Shikotsumyaku no Naruto
by BoneNomad
Summary: We're rarely allowed to choose our deaths. Armed with a Kekkai Genkai and cursed with a disease that will eventually take his life, Naruto struggles to make his dream a reality, before the inevitable. Everyone will learn to fear the Dead Bone Pulse. NXH.
1. Dead Bone Pulse: Revised

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Please note I will not repeat this, so assume this Disclaimer applies for all chapters.

**All right, this is how it's going to work. Every chapter (save this one) will have a little blurp at the top in script format that will explain possible inconsistencies between this story and the Manga. After that, you will have Chapter (insert number) and the chapter's name, as below, and the chapter. After that, there will be a dividing line and a glossary of the Jutsu used in the chapter that have made their first appearance in the story. After that, there may be an Author Note (again in bold) that will show some of my thoughts on the chapter, or give credit to idea's I may have drawn from other places. Well, of you go, peoples. I've wasted your time enough. Read!

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**Chapter 1,  
Dead Bone Pulse**

"**I will not be ignored, boy."** A massive red furred, nine tailed fox roared, as its blond, borderline white, haired host turned away from the beast's cage, walking down the sewers to the rest of his mind. 

"Whatever, fox. Stop yammering." Uzumaki Naruto called back, waving his hand. "I don't care about your crusade with the snake." Those words only served to increase the Kyuubi's rage. 

"**You will obey!"** Kyuubi roared once more. Naruto stopped walking,turning absently and cocking his head to the side as he stared right on back at the Kyuubi, two red dots sitting prominently on his forehead. 

"You… and who's army?" He asked bluntly, raising a finger and wagging it in front of the Kyuubi as it roared out at him again, shouting obscenities. Only when the Kyuubi decided to take a bite at his parents did Naruto point his finger at him, outrage on his face. Suddenly, a bullet made of bone shot from the fingertip, narrowly missing the fox's ear. "The sealed have no influence on the container" Naruto snarled at the Kyuubi, his speech oddly flowery for a teen who had been attributed to absolute stupidity. "You have no power here, fox. You never did, and if I have anything to say about it, you never will." With that, Naruto stalked away. Ignoring the Kyuubi's words. The beast couldn't help but snort as the boy vanished from view, eventually deciding to settle down to sleep. 

"**If nothing else…"** The Kyuubi admitted. **"He's a brave little kit."**

**-**

_Barely one minute and for__ty three seconds earlier…_

"What's wrong, scaredy cat?" Naruto snarled at Sasuke, having stopped a giant purple snake single-handed. The teen didn't have time for much more then a yelp as a impossibly long tongue wrapped itself around his midsection, dragging him into the air and face to face with the 'freaky snake man'. The serpentine ninja let out a sinister cackle, as he examined the seal on Naruto's stomach. 

"So, you're the Kyuubi brat. Still alive, I see..." He mused pensively. "Pity, if it weren't for the fact that the Ten no Juin would intefere with the Shiki Fuuin, I'd mark you too. No matter, if you cannot be tamed, then you will have to be neutralized." The hebi-nin started forming hand seals, ignoring Naruto's struggles to free himself, even going so far as to merely tilt his head out of the way of a hastily thrown kunai.

'Damn it… I can't believe this is how I'm going to die.' Naruto thought, thinking the snake-man was preparing to kill him with an obscene and painful Jutsu. 'I'm not ready to die!' 

"Gogyo Fuuin!" The snake-man cried, as five purple flames lit up upon his fingertips. With a cry that could only be likened to glee, he thrust it at Naruto's stomach, who had long since scrunched his eyes shut as he awaited the inevitable.

'I'm not ready to die!' He screamed out into the blackness of his mind. For a moment, he thought he saw a sewer, but the image vanished just as fast. Then he heard a loud thump, as if flesh had struck something harder then rock. 

"Nani? Of course, Shikotsumyaku!" The snake-man screamed out in surprise. Naruto opened an eye, his kill or be killed instincts flaring up and overwhelming truly conscious thought.

 Several bones had shot out of Naruto's chest, twirling around each other as they formed a barrier above the seal on Naruto's stomach. He could almost taste the snake-mans surprise, but on some level he knew it wouldn't last. With a final squirm Naruto managed to position himself just right to lash out with his foot, aiming to catch the man under the chin. His foot didn't even come close, mainly due to it's owners overall shortness. However, the bones that shot out of his toes like bullets sure did, two grazing the snake-mans cheek and one going straight through his ear. In his surprise, the snake-man's tongue unravelled from Naruto's body, the teen falling to the forest floor like a rock.

"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" Naruto had forgotten that Sasuke was even there, but was grateful for the distraction, five fireballs flying at the hebi-nin in an erratic fashion. There was no choice for the snake, it was move or be cooked. Naruto was rather shocked to find that the snake took the third option, launching his own barrage of fireballs to match Sasuke's. Both sets of fire blew up rather spectacularly.

Having finally crashed down onto the forest floor, Naruto was glad that Sakura had leapt of her branch and caught him just before he had landed. Leaping out of her arms and onto his feet, he began searching the area for the snake, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Naruto, up!" Sasuke roared from the tree's, narrowly avoiding a barrage of poisonous snake's. Naruto didn't even have time to think, his hand acting as if it had a mind of it's own. It went straight up, firing off a barrage of white bullets from his fingertips...

'Wait, those are my fingertips!' Naruto suddenly realized, almost retching at the realization. Without thinking about his actions, Naruto leapt from tree trunk to tree trunk, making his way back into the branches of the forest roof, regaining what little advantage height gave him. To his far left, on a slightly higher branch, stood Sasuke, while Sakura stood to his right, with the snake-man flickering into existence in between the three. 

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked vehemently, barely able to keep his emotions separate from the towering rage that seemed to be trying to envelope him. The snake man only chuckled in reply, a sinister smirk finding it's way to his serpent-like features.

"Kukuku… I am Orochimaru of the Sannin. I must admit, you three are rather… impressive for little Genin." He replied, giving Naruto a sarcastic bow. Sasuke scoffed at Orochimaru's words, having regained some of his shattered confidence. 

"Naruto, Sakura, let's remind him why he shouldn't mess with Team 7." Sasuke called. Naruto nodded, although his usual enthusiasm was not present. 

"Right." He replied softly. Sakura gave a small smile in response, obviously willing to follow Sasuke into hell itself. Naruto could almost feel his heart breaking at that smile, but something was preventing him from crying out in sorrow. He could only watch as she whipped out a pair of kunai with tags on them and hurled them at Orochimaru. Orochimaru snarled at her, before flickering out of existence. 

"Doton, Doryu Sasudan!" Orochimaru cried, as a mud dragon lunged from the earth below the trio, spitting spinning bullets of mud at them. Sakura quickly formed the ram hand seal, causing the tags to explode, before the trio leapt away, each sliding along the forest floor in search of their opponent. 

"Here, Sasuke-kun!" Orochimaru whispered from behind the Uchiha survivor, his fist smashing into Sasuke's stomach as he spun in surprise. Orochimaru's hand reared back for a second blow, only for something white and sharp to slice right on into it, pinning it to a nearby tree-trunk. Sasuke spat to the side as he dropped and rolled away, Sakura jumping over his body as her hand reared back. Orochimaru made an attempt to jump away, but two more white spikes went through his feet, his face almost contorting into an amused grin as Sakura's hand smashed him into the ground, where he surprisingly bounced, almost ignoring the laws of physics.

"Shannaro!" Sakura screamed, delivering a second, overpowering cross to Orochimaru's stomach as he rose off the ground, sending him flyingthrough several trees and towards god knew where.

"Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke roared, blasting a fireball at Orochimaru's air-born body, only for it to turn to mud as it ground itself along the ground in a charred heap. "A clone?" 

"No, a replacement!" Sakura called, as the trio stood back to back. "We got him pretty bad." Naruto shook his head. 

"Not if he's the Sannin he says he is." He muttered. "He underestimated us." 

"Indeed." Orochimaru stated from his perch above them. "You are a strong team. Perhaps Sensei is trying to force the creation of a second generation of Sannin. Ku, the senile old fool. We were the best, and only, Sannin." Orochimaru suddenly hurled a volley of kunai at the Genin from who knew where. To Naruto, it was as if they'd materialized out of the man's sleeves. Nethertheless, the volley did it's job, forcing Team 7 to part. "You fought well, though. You are very much worthy of my gift, Sasuke-kun!" Suddenly, Naruto felt consciousness flicker away into nothingness, something wet and red dripping out of a wound in his ribs, where a kunai was now jammed into his body. He fell to his knees, barely able to see what was happening. On some level, he was dimly aware that Sakura had crashed into the ground beside him.  That wasn't the only realization the boy had made. Somewhere, he could recall Iruka telling him that a kunai between the third and fourth rib was usually fatal, especially if aimed slightly upwards. He couldn't recall why, though.

Oh, that's right, because it went right into the heart. Naruto used the last of his strength to rip the ninja knife out, before he collapsed completely.

"Good work, Sasuke-kun. Ten no Juin!" Naruto heard something blow up and a scream of pain, before he surrendered to the bliss of nothingness.

-

_Eight hours later…_

Sakura could feel herself nodding off to sleep, but she fought it, struggling to remain awake out of the deep-seated need to protect her teammates. Glancing around her as she had barely eight seconds ago, her weary mind was glad to find that no one had entered the clearing, nor that any animals had strayed near her decoy trap. Her head fell a few inches, rose a few more, then fell again, as she struggled vainly to stave off sleep. 

'No, got to stay awake.' Her mind ranted, the teenager shaking her head and looking up again. It was no use, though. Soon after her head drooped again and she fell asleep, where reality could no longer reach her. 

That was exactly how Naruto found her once he awakened, ribs miraculously healed, barely five minutes later. He smiled, ruffling Sakura's hair affectionately, before sitting down by the fire and stirring it up. Sakura shot to awareness just as the fire flared. 

"You know, once upon a time I would have asked for a date right about now." Naruto muttered, to the sleepy Sakura's surprise. 

"Ano… what? Naruto, I'm…" She started, still struggling to avoid sleep, but Naruto cut her off. 

"In love with Sasuke. I know, and you know what, I think I can accept that now." He replied, the image of her being hurled aside when she tried to help Sasuke coming to mind. He couldn't help but laugh. "Strange, isn't it. The sight of you trying to save Sasuke should have made me more desperate to win your heart, but it just… set me free." He sighed, lying on his back and using his arms as a pillow. 

"Naruto…" Sakura muttered, staring at him. "For what its worth, I love you too. Just… not in the way you wanted me to." 

"Love? Sakura, what is love, exactly?" Naruto asked. "I don't understand. You can love someone, but not love them?" 

"Love… it's a lot of things, Naruto." Sakura tried to explain, yawning. "Can the explanation wait until morning?" Naruto smiled. 

"Sure, but I'll hold you to that." He replied. "Sleep tight." 

"You too, Naruto…" Sakura replied, curling into a ball. She was asleep within moments. Naruto quickly glanced around the clearing, his prankster experience quickly identifying Sakura's fake trap for what it really was. A diversion. A devious smirk appeared on Naruto's face, as he stood up and set to work improving the trap. 

He almost felt sorry for the fool who got caught in it. 

Almost… but only almost.

_-_

_The next morning…_

"Naruto?" Said demon container glanced at Sakura as she said his name, as she sizzled some bacon over the fire. "How do you like your eggs?" 

"I'll have them runny." Naruto replied from his place by the tree. "How is he?" 

"No change. I think we may need to pull out of the exam." She whispered. Naruto smiled. 

"Not yet, Sakura. We still have a day." He replied. "Sasuke will pull through. I know he will." 

"Maybe." She didn't sound too confident, as she handed him breakfast. "How did you do it?" 

"Do what?" Now Naruto was curious. Sakura tapped his shoulder. 

"Shoot bones from your fingers?" She replied. Naruto laughed nervously. 

"Honestly, I'm not sure." He said. "All I know is that if I force a little chakra into my fingertips like this…" He pointed his index finger at a branch above him, as his fingertip shot out like a bullet. Sakura gave a soft giggle, before settling down into a thinking pose.

"You know what…" She muttered, finally stopping. "I think it's a Kekkai Genkai." Naruto glanced at her as he ate. 

"Really? I suppose that puts me in a clan of some sort." He replied. "Does that mean I have a family out there?"

 "Probably not." Sakura answered. "If you did, they would have come for you, wouldn't they?" 

"I'm not so sure." He whispered, finishing his meal. "What if I was unwanted?" 

"I doubt that, Naruto. You can be annoying, but no one would deliberately leave you to die." She smiled. "Well, I suppose we better get ready to leave. If we hurry, we can get to the tower even with Sasuke in that condition."

 "We still need another scroll." Naruto called. Sakura shook her head. "We have to accept defeat, I think." She muttered. "We are one member down." 

"We might not have the numbers, but we have the will." Naruto stated, brushing his paling hair out of his eyes. "We can do it." 

"Your right." Sakura glanced at him. "Well… Naruto, get down!" Naruto dropped as soon as he heard that, narrowly avoiding a senbon with a bell attached that flew by his head. Naruto swiftly moved into a crouch, firing off a bone bullet at the bell even as he glared at the trio of Oto-nin behind the pair, a snarl on his face.  He was rather satisfied to hear the bell shatter, though.

"Well, what do we have here? A bunch of little Konoha Genin." A boy who could only be likened to a mummy stated. Naruto let out an animalistic growl in reply, standing up. 

"Sakura, give me support." He stated, his hands reaching up to his shoulders. The mummy sneered at him. 

"What, hiding kunai in your shoulders? How unprofessional." He jeered. Naruto smirked, letting his instincts take over. He certainly hoped his body knew what it was doing, or he'd look like an absolute idiot.

"Kunai? Why would I need kunai when I have… these!" With a scream of pain, Naruto ripped out the bones in his upper arms, sending blood flying as they formed two white short swords. The mummy's jaw dropped open at the display of machoism. .. or outright insanity. Who knew?

"Did he just?" The sole female Oto-nin asked. Her other companion nodded., fear in his eyes as he backed off a step.

"He did. That's… insane. Who rips out his own bones?" He asked in horror. Naruto let his smirk vanish, his mouth forming a thin line. 

"I do!" Naruto roared, as he sped forward. The mummy stepped forward in response, pointing his gauntlet at Naruto. 

"Kyomeisen!" He roared, unleashing a blast of sound. Naruto felt a sharp pain in his ears, but it was gone almost instantly as, unbeknownst to him, the bones in his ears hardened and sealed until the sound waves had no effect. The mummy took a step back, shocked. 

"Guys… he shouldn't be doing that!" He cried, looking more then ready to turn around and bolt. His male companion simply groaned, screwing up whatever remained of his courage. 

"Step aside, Dosu!" He roared, shoving him aside and pointing his palm at Naruto. "Zankuha!" Suddenly, a buffet of air flew from his palm, but Naruto spun around it awkwardly, continuing his charge. Swearing, the final member of the team lunged forward, kunai in hand, just as Naruto struck, leaving the pairs weapons entangled and at a standstill. 

"Dosu, Zaku, move it! I can't… hold him…" She cried, as Naruto quickly overpowered her, a bone sword biting deep into her arm as Zaku placed both palms together. 

"Zankuha!" He screamed, sending a massive air blast at the pair. The female screamed in horror, and was saved only by a swift kick from Naruto that sent her hurtling into a tree, Naruto then simply jumping over the attack.  There was no need to use a Kiwirimi... yet.

"What the hell? She's your team mate." Naruto cried, disgusted at Zaku's lack of teamwork. Zaku shrugged in response. 

"Yeah, and?" He asked. Naruto spat to the side, dropping the bone swords. 

"Burn in hell. Sakura, volley!" He called, as his team-mate hurled a volley of shuriken at the trio. Naruto spun in a circle as he withdrew a folded fuuma shuriken from under his shirt, the massive weapon unfolded and thrown at Zaku in a flash. 

"Zankuha!" Zaku cried again, destroying the fuuma shuriken. "Damn it, Kin. Pull your weight!"

 "In case you haven't noticed, sound doesn't work on this guy!" She screamed back. "I don't see your methods working either, Zaku!" Naruto felt a tick mark form on his forehead., even as he watched the enemy regroup. 

'Kami, can't anyone get along on their team?' He wondered, firing several volleys of bone bullets from his fingers, forcing the trio to dodge or die, whichever they preferred. Naturally, they chose to live. 

"Ah crap! Now he can shoot from his freaking fingers!" Kin snarled. "Can this get any worse?" Behind her, Dosu groaned as several bullets impaled themselves in his left shoulder. 

"It just did!" He growled, as a green-garbed teen leaped from the bushes. "Lookout!"  Of course, it was too late.

"Konoha Senpu!" The newcomer cried, as he unleashed a pair of spinning round kicks on Zaku, sending him crashing into a tree. Dosu swore. 

"Another leaf ninja. Damn it, they're crawling out of the woodworks." He growled. The newcomer quickly took a relaxed stance, one hand in the small of his back. Naruto felt almost annoyed that the newcomer wasn't taking his foe's seriously, but didn't comment. After all, if he and Sakura were more then a match for the Oto-nin, then three was overkill.

"I am Rock Lee, the Green Beast of Konoha!" He cried. "Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Sakura looked like she was about to yell, but quickly calmed down. 

"I'm fine, Lee." She replied. "Naruto, stop playing around!" Naruto nodded, ripping out his bone swords once more... or he would have, except his left bicep came out with the blade. Naruto hurriedly shoved that one back in before he started ripping the sinew that attached it to the rest of his nervous system, waiting a moment for the Kyuubi to fix his injury. Naturally, the beast didn't, but something did. Naruto decided that it was something to ponder later, perfectly amazed at how far his muscle could apparently stretch, as he removed his right bone sword, this one coming out perfectly.

"Alright, let's dance." He growled, giving his arm an extra moment to finish fixing itself properly. At this point, the Kyuubi had finally pitched in, although it really wasn't much more then sticking the muscle back on the bone. Kin froze, a dribble of bile running down her chin, as Dosu cursed even louder. 

"This is really screwed up." He growled. "Isn't Sasuke meant to be the threat?" Zaku let out a groan as he got back to his feet, cradling his now broken arm. 

"That's what Intel said. That bastard was wrong." He replied. Kin wiped the bile away. 

"What do we do?" She asked. Dosu shrugged. 

"We run." He replied simply. "We can't win against someone who uses his own freaking bones as weapons. How the hell do we hurt him?" 

"Screw you. I'll kill him easily, you freaking coward! Zankukyokuha!" Zaku screamed, sending out a massive blast of air. Naruto spun sword in a circle, before slashing straight down with both hands, dividing the wind in half and allowing it to fly past and completely disintegrate a pair of trees. Zaku's eyes bugged out as he examined the carnage. 

"You're kidding…" Kin muttered. "Those bones must be harder then steel." 

"We are screwed." Dosu muttered, as a chill came over him. 

"Your right. You are." Sasuke called from behind him, black markings covering the left side of his face. "Naruto, this doesn't look like much of a fight." 

"It isn't really, Sasuke." Naruto replied. "Watch out for mummy boy, though. His attacks use sound waves." Sasuke nodded. 

"Noted. Shall we?" He asked. Naruto smirked. 

"Hell yeah. Let's rock!" He cried, dashing at Kin and Dosu as Sasuke seemed to teleport behind Zaku, his leg easily breaking the boys other arm with a crack. Kin screamed, as Dosu lunged in front of her, taking the slash on his gauntlet. 

"Wait, we surrender!" Dosu cried. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. 

"We care why?" He asked. "You have something we need." 

"Take the scroll." Kin growled, shoving it into Sasuke's hands. "I'm out of here. This is too messed up." Dosu sighed, glancing at the pathetically moaning Zaku. 

"That makes two of us." He muttered, as Naruto's bone sword crumbled away. He walked over to Zaku, picking him up. 

"Wait, what does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?" Sakura called. Dosu shrugged. 

"Who knows? Our mission was to kill him. Freaking suicide mission with bone freak over there." He replied, walking away. Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. 

"Is it just me, or was that anticlimactic?" He asked. Sasuke and Sakura both glanced at him, the marks on Sasuke's neck receding. "What?"

 "Do you even know what that means, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto frowned. 

"Hey!"

-

"Yosh, your flames of Youth are burning brightly, to defeat the Oto-nin so effortlessly, so flawlessly, so…" Naruto twitched, interrupting Lee's rant with a wave. 

"We get it, fuzzy-brows." He muttered, glancing at Sasuke. "You okay, teme?"

 "I'm as fine as I'll be for a while." He replied, rubbing his neck. "This seal… left me a bit winded, that's all." Sakura smiled a little at that, as she drank from her canteen. 

"Well, we have both scrolls. We just need to get to the tower, now." She said. Naruto shrugged, his face thoughtful. 

"Where's your team, fuzzy-brows?" He finally asked. Lee's face fell. 

"In my… passionate Youth… I seem to have left them behind." He whispered. Naruto smashed his palm against his face in annoyance. 

"Great." He groaned. "Just great…" Suddenly, his hand whipped around, several bone bullets flying at the tree beside a white-eyed boys head. "Who's there?"

 "Please excuse us." His companion stated, a girl in a Chinese vest. "We're just here for Lee." 

"Neji, Tenten!" Lee cried, tears flying from his eyes like rivers. "How I have missed your passionate flames of… ack…" Tenten had obviously heard enough and smashed him over the head with her fist. 

"Sorry about our wayward team-mate. He's overenthusiastic." Tenten apologized profusely, giving a bow. Her team-mate simply scoffed.

 "Come, Lee, Tenten." He stated calmly, walking away. Sasuke was about to leap to his feet, when Sakura's hand stopped him. 

"No. Let them go, Sasuke-kun." She whispered. "Neither you nor Naruto are at one hundred percent. If we fight, we risk our place in the finals. Better to live and let live." Sasuke nodded, accepting her explanation. 

"Well, Naruto, I think it's time we took off ourselves, ne?" He asked. Naruto nodded, looking at the sky.

 "It's almost noon. We've got maybe three hours left. Not much time." He replied. 

"Then run like the hounds of yomi are after us, Naruto!" Sasuke cried, leaping into the trees. Naruto and Sakura were not far behind him.

-

"Sasuke, we're running out of time." Naruto called ahead. Sasuke suddenly came to a stop, eyeing the pale haired boy wearily. 

"Didn't we just pass that centipede?" He asked. Naruto frowned, examining it closely. 

"Genjutsu." Sakura muttered. Naruto swore vehemently, smashing his palm into his head repeatedly. 

"That makes sense. Damn it, then we can't trust the sun!" He screamed, venting his rage by smashing his hand into a tree. Sakura shook her head., deciding to elaborate.

"This Genjutsu's short range. Whoever used it is right on top of us. It's probably from a desperate team. We have time." She explained quickly, barely making sense. Naruto nodded at her explanation, turning to Sasuke.

"Break it?" He asked. Sasuke nodded, his face thoughtful. 

"Break it, Sakura." The cherry blossom haired girl smiled. 

"Genjutsu Kai!" She cried, focusing her chakra. Suddenly, the centipede vanished. Naruto glanced at Sakura, then to Sasuke. 

"Split up, meet back here in ten. The password is the name of the ninja that almost killed us twice." Sasuke cried, leaping into the trees. Sakura spun around, charging down the path, as Naruto leapt into the woods.

-

"Who would have thought we'd be lucky enough to catch two teams in that little Genjutsu of ours?" An Ame-nin snickered, as Team 8 and the Oto-nin desperately tried to avoid a multitude of kunai. Kiba swore vehemently, one striking his forearm. 

"Hinata, have you worked out where they are yet?" He yelled. Hinata shook her head. 

"I-iie… I can't tell. The chakra in the air is too thick." She replied. Kiba swore. 

"The airs waterlogged and full of chakra. Great." He groaned. "Hey, Oto-nin, you work out anything?"

 "They aren't staying in one location." Kin replied. "I can't use my bells on them. I'll hit everyone at once." She let out an annoyed grunt as she sliced the throat of an Ame-nin with a kunai, only to find it to be a Bunshin. "Damn it. I wish bone boy were here now, his bone bullets would have come in…." She trailed off as an Ame-nin let out a scream, a white sword of bone flying through his elbow, severing it and spraying blood on the ground. "Speak of the devil…" 

"Shit… Kin, you do remember that his team was hell bent on killing us the last time we saw them." Dosu growled, blocking a kunai with his gauntlet. Naruto let out a snarl as he charged at the Ame-nin, ripping a second bone sword from his left arm and, with a flick to remove his blood from the blade, shoving it through the hapless Ame-nin's throat. 

"Looks like the past hours enemy becomes this hours friend." Sasuke called from his perch on a branch. Sakura nodded from the other side of the battlefield. 

"Naruto, don't hog the fun." She called, drawing a kunai. "We need to get some action too, you know."

 "Great, we're surrounded with three teams after our scroll." Kiba groaned. Shino shrugged. 

"My Kikai bugs are afraid of Naruto for some reason." He stated. "His chakra is very different now. We should flee." Naruto snickered from beside them, pulling out yet another bone sword, this one covered in crusts of calcium.

"Stop worrying. We'll deal with the Ame bastards. Hey, I owe you guys for ambushing me on the toilet." Naruto called, leaving Hinata and Kin red faced. 

"Wait, what?" Kin spluttered indignantly.

"Ano…" Hinata simply shook her head at Naruto. "T-that's Naruto-kun for y-you." Zaku groaned, as Dosu ripped a kunai out of his thigh. 

"I feel like a freaking pincushion." Zaku muttered, glancing at Dosu. "We're screwed, aren't we?" 

"Maybe not." Dosu replied. "Let's wait and see." He suddenly gagged; as Naruto began ripping the straight bones out of his body at random and hurling them at the Bunshin's like kunai. Behind him, Hinata  and Kin simply threw up. 

"How does he do it?" Zaku asked, wincing as Naruto hurled what looked like his forearm at an Ame-nin clone. "Damn, that has to hurt."

 "Not really." Naruto's voice called back, to everyone's surprise. "Sasuke, they're at point C!" 

"Right. Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke cried, blasting a fireball down into the centre of the battlefield. Sakura pulled out several kunai's with wire, as two figures leapt from the cloud of smoke into the air. With a grunt, she hurled the kunai at them, watching the wire tie the pair together as they flew to the ground, bound helplessly. 

"Got them." She smiled. 

"We didn't need your help." Kiba growled, as Naruto set about looting from the dead Ame-nin's body. Shino sighed, stepping in front of Kiba and holding his hand above his chest. 

"Kiba, do not be rash. Naruto did more then we did as a team on his own. I have very few doubts he could take us out single handed, as my Kikai bugs refuse to go anywhere near him." Shino explained stoically. Naruto shrugged, as he grabbed a Ten scroll from his deceased opponent. Without a word, Kin's kunai came to Naruto's throat, as Sasuke's came to hers and Sakura's came to Dosu's. "We need that scroll." Kin growled. Naruto frowned, glancing to Sasuke, an unspoken argument going between them. With a sigh, Sasuke withdrew his kunai. 

"Very well. What are you willing to trade?" He asked in reply. Kin sighed. 

"What do you want? We've got kunai, shuriken, explosive tags…" 

"Information." Naruto spoke up. "Why is Orochimaru in Konoha?" Kin shook her head. 

"Honestly, we have no idea." She replied. Zaku coughed. 

"Uh… don't quote me on this, but I've hear of Orochimaru experimenting on his own ninja. Maybe your seals a part of it." He said nervously. Naruto's gaze fell on him, a bone bullet whizzing past his head. 

"Explain, now!" Sasuke growled. Zaku shook his head. 

"I overheard Orochimaru and a spy. They were talking about the death rate and that there seemed to be hundreds of side effects. Hightened aggression, extra strentgh, the like. That's all I know." He cried out in fear. Naruto sighed, handing the scroll to Kin. 

"You've got thirty seconds." He replied. "Get out of my sight before I kill you." Kin and Dosu nodded, as the trio fled into the trees. Naruto sighed, glancing to the captured Ame-nin. 

"Ano… N-Naruto-kun, what a-are we going t-to do with t-t-the Ame-nin?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head.  He wasn't going to let anyone watch him intentionally stain his soul black.

"Go ahead, guys. I'll catch up." He stated simply. Sasuke nodded. In understanding, quickly rounding up the group. 

"Come on, Kiba, Shino, Hinata. We'll escort you to the tower. People will think twice about attacking a group of six." Sasuke explained. 

"W-what about N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Sakura shook her head. 

"We're better off not knowing." She said. She had an inkling of her intentions, but as the five leapt into the trees, she forced it out of her mind. Naruto turned back to the two remaining Ame-nin, removing a bone sword from his left arm. It was stained in blood. How fitting. 

"W-wait… what are you…" One cried out in fear. Naruto shook his head, a look of disgust on his face.  A tear absently trailed down his left cheek, but whether it was for the Ame-nin or not, the teen didn't know.

"That's twice you've ambushed us." He stated, stalking over to them. "I can't take the risk that there will be a third time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." 

Bird's suddenly scattered from that section of the forest, as a dull thud hit the ground.

-

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata murmured, as Naruto swept through the trees beside her. Sasuke spared only a quick glance at him. 

"You okay, Naruto?" He asked. Naruto shrugged. 

"Maybe." He replied softly. "Worry about me later, Sasuke. We need to get to the tower." Sakura gave him a worried glance, her expression mirrored on Hinata's face, but no one called him out on his words, as the group rushed to the tower in silence.

-

_Five minutes prior to the end of the exam…_

"I don't get it. What do we do now?" Kiba asked, as the two teams entered the tower. Naruto frowned, reading the board on the wall. 

"If you lack Ten, acquire knowledge. If you lack Chi, train your body. This is the way of the…" He read. 

"Ano… does Ten mean s-spirit and C-Chi mean body?" Hinata asked, fiddling with her fingers. Sakura sighed, as she rolled the riddle around in her head. 

"I suppose you could liken it to that." She admitted. "I think we need to open our scrolls."

 "On three?" Sasuke asked Naruto, as Kiba and Shino withdrew their pair of scrolls. 

"One… two… three!" Naruto called, opening his scroll. Sasuke swore aloud as realization struck, hard. 

"It's a summoning scroll. Toss them away!" He cried, hurling his scroll away. The rest of the boys followed his example, watching as two clouds of smoke erupted from the scroll, revealing Iruka and Kurenai. 

"Congratu… wow, two teams at once. Has this happened before?" Iruka asked. Kurenai shrugged. 

"It probably has at one point." She admitted. "Congratulations at passing the Forest of Death." 

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto spoke up. "But… why are you here?" 

"To explain the writing on the wall behind us." Iruka replied. "If you lack Ten, seek knowledge…" 

"Meaning if your weakness is your mind, like Naruto and Kiba…" Kurenai spoke up with a wry grin. "Then acquire knowledge." Kiba let out a small growl.

 "Hey, I'm not…" Naruto cut him off. 

"She's right. We don't know nearly enough, Kiba." Naruto muttered. Iruka continued on. 

"If you lack Chi, train your body." He stated, once again allowing Kurenai to elaborate. 

"Meaning if your weakness is your body, like Hinata and Sakura, train hard to become stronger." She elaborated. "These two tenants are vital to the skills of a ninja."

 "This is the way of the…" Iruka started. "Chunin…" Naruto inputted. "This is how a Chunin should live his life, right?" Iruka nodded. 

"Very good, Naruto." Iruka congratulated. 

"These tenants were created by our own Sandaime Hokage." Kurenai stated. "A whole two generations have lived their Shinobi lives by these tenants." 

"They will guide you in becoming stronger." Iruka finished. Naruto nodded, walking past the pair. 

"I see." He muttered. Iruka frowned. 

"Naruto?" He asked. Naruto placed a hand on the wall. 

"For me to grow stronger as a ninja, I need knowledge." He reiterated, looking at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded at the teens analogy, almost surprised that Naruto was deferring to him. 

"You're catching on, Naruto. Where did the dead last go?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged, smiling. 

"He grew up when his friends nearly died." Naruto replied.

* * *

Jutsu Glossary

_Doton, Doryu Sasudan (Literally Earth Style: Earth Dragon Pierce Bullet), Original _

_A-rank Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres _

_Summons a dragon made of mud, which then proceeds to spit bullets of mud. These bullets spin to gain momentum, and increase damage. Chakra consumption for this technique, however, is high, and requires the user to stay completely still. Still, unlike many of the Jutsu's sister techniques, this technique may not necessarily be lethal. _

_Basis: This Jutsu actually originated from the fact that Doton, Doryudan seemed a little underpowered in comparison to the other dragon Jutsu shown in Naruto. It's really little more then an incomplete power up from the original, although with its drawback, sometimes you are better off with the original. This is an original Jutsu of Orochimaru._

_-_

_Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu (Literally Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique) _

_C-rank Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres _

_The user performs the necessary hand seals, before exhaling deeply. His breath erupts into a large fireball that is capable of incinerating anything short of rock or metal. Due to the chakra necessary to perform the Jutsu, most Genin in Konoha cannot even attempt the Jutsu._

_-_

_Katon, Housenka no Jutsu (Often translated as Phoenix Flower Technique)_

_C-rank Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres _

_The user performs the necessary hand seals, before spitting out a barrage of small fireballs. Damage dealt, unfortunately, is minimal, making this Jutsu best used as a distraction._

_-_

_Zankuha (Decapitating Air Waves) _

_D-ranked, presumably Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres _

_Using the air pathways implanted in his arms, Zaku can unleash highly pressurised blasts of air that can destroy stone and, presumably, metal, too. It is believed that the technique is impossible to perform through other methods, although the air pathways may just be an aid._

_-_

_Zankukyokuha (Extreme Decapitating Air Waves) _

_C-rank, presumably Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres _

_A Jutsu that is little more then a super powered Zankuha; one can assume that it has even greater destructive potential. Unfortunately, the only time it was actually seen, it didn't actually hit something of note._

_-_

_Kyomeisen (Vibrating Sound Drill) _

_C-rank, presumably Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres _

_Using a special gauntlet called a Melody Arm, the user can directly manipulate sound waves and cause nausea, generally through attacking the inner ear. Unfortunately for Dosu, Naruto unknowingly used the Shikotsumyaku to harden his inner ear and protect himself from the Jutsu._

_-_

_Bunshin no Jutsu (Doppelganger Technique) _

_D-rank Ninjutsu ?_

_A basic technique that creates a set of insubstantial clones. It has been a topic of debate for many years, whether this is a Ninjutsu or a Genjutsu. Unfortunately, seeing as the technique is down right useless, the argument will probably never be settled._

_-_

_Gogyo Fuuin (Five-elements Seal)_

_A-rank Fuinjutsu, 0-5 metres _

_A technique that creates a seal on its target. The seal then proceeds to disrupt the targets chakra flow. When placed on an even numbered seal, however, this effect is more pronounced, and, if powerful enough, will completely seal the targets chakra. Orochimaru attempted to use this on Naruto._

_-_

_Teshi Sendan (Literally Drilling Finger Bullets) _

_Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-10 metres_

 _A Jutsu that literally uses the fingertips of the user as bullets, sending the finger bones spiralling towards the target. The potential for damage from this technique is negligible to very high, depending on how the bones are manipulated. Naruto uses this unknowingly throughout the whole chapter._

_-_

_Tsubaki no Mai (Literally Dance of the Camellia)_

_Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-5 metres _

_The user uses the humorous (upper arm bone) to create a bone sword. Depending on how the user manipulates the bone, it can become harder then steel. Naruto uses this several times throughout the chapter without knowing its name. Like the Teshi Sendan, the Tsubaki no Mai is an instinctual reaction for Naruto._

_-_

_Shoubi no Mai (Literally Dance of the Rose), Original _

_Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-10 metres _

_The user rips out either his humorous, shin or forearm, and turns it into a makeshift spear, which is then hurled at the enemy. Depending on the bones density, the damage can be negligible to almost certainly fatal. This technique also comes naturally to Naruto, although, unlike Tsubaki no Mai and Teshi Sendan, is painful to use. Thankfully for Naruto, he has a high pain tolerance. _

_Basis: Honestly, the only scene where this was used, I was thinking about Diablo 2, and the Necromancer's Bone Spear. Unfortunately, none of the Dances, Anime, Manga or Game, really fit the techniques description, so I was forced to come up with a new move. It's naming was after the thorns of a rose, fitting with the plant theme of the dances._

_-_

_Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)_

_Kekkai Genkai _

_A bloodline limit that allows the user to make use of his own bones as weapons. This bloodline was formerly unique to the Kaguya Clan, but the dormant gene has been passed through the previous three generations of Uzumaki. It has finally awoken due to Naruto's fear of death._

_-_

_Sharingan_ _(Copy-wheel Eye) _

_Kekkai Genkai _

_A Doujutsu (eye Jutsu) unique to the Uchiha clan that allows them to instantly memorise hand seals and the environment around them. As the Sharingan can see chakra, this allows for the instant learning of Ninjutsu and, if the user sees it, Genjutsu, but the owner must be using his Sharingan to take advantage of this memorisation. The Sharingan is almost useless when learning Taijutsu. Sasuke had the Sharingan active during the battle with Orochimaru, but never used it again in the chapter._

_-_

**That would be chapter 1. If you like, drop a review. If you find a mistake, or something drastic that needs immediate fixing (such as me being extremely inconsistent or forgetting to explain something that needed to be explained), drop me a review saying that, or PM me. I'm more likely to get the review, though. If you don't like it, then don't flame. Simply hit the back button and find a story you do like. Keep me happy, people, and I'll try and keep you happy. Annoy me, and I'll probably just give up. I've seen it happen before.**

**Well, there you go. Chapter 1 is now revised. Hopefully it reads better, now. I altered some dialogue and fight scene's, as well as cleared up the formatting. Zaku's answer to Naruto has been altered to fit in with later events, or we'd have continuity errors. **

**Enjoy the new Chapter 1. If I've made an error, please let me know, and I'll fix it right away.**


	2. The Preliminaries and the Aftermath

_Lesson on Ninjutsu: What's in a name?  
Naruto: Ever wonder why we all call out the name of our Jutsu right before we do it? Well look no further!  
A Jutsu is comprised of two parts. Chakra Moulding and Chakra Unleashing. Obviously, Chakra Unleashing is the completion of the Jutsu, but what is Chakra Moulding? Chakra Moulding is the performance of hand seals and other components that make up the Jutsu, allowing the body to work out exactly what's being asked of it and how it's supposed to perform the action.  
Hinata: Ano, so it's like… e-eating ramen in a s-specific way?  
Naruto: Exactly. Unless you know all the Chakra Moulding components of a Jutsu, you can't change its power. It will be the exact same every time you use it. You see, this is why the Sharingan ain't actually that great, folks. It can only repeat a Jutsu at the exact strength it copied it at. So if I made one thousand Kage Bunshin, and Sasuke copied me…  
Sasuke: Are you telling me I'd have to make one thousand Kage Bunshin too?  
Naruto: Yep. And that, folks, is why I get stuffed over whenever I use the Tessenka no Mai. I don't know it's name, therefore, I can't change its Chakra Moulding.  
Hinata: Poor Naruto-kun.  
Sasuke: One thousand Kage Bunshin… oh, god. Remind me never to try and copy Naruto. I'd kill myself.  


* * *

Chapter 2,  
The Preliminaries and the aftermath_

"Quiet, quiet." The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobai, asked quietly. Unfortunately, very few of the teenage Chunin-to-be kids heard him. To his left, the proctor of the second exam, Mitarashi Anko, let out a deep breath.  
"Quiet, maggots!" She roared. Suddenly, there was silence. Sarutobai cleared his throat, as he considered the speech he was about to state.  
"Well, everyone, I believe that first, some congratulations are in order. You have all survived and succeeded in the second stage of the Chunin exam. However, do not become over confident. This exam is far from finished. First, though, there is something I would like to tell you. The Chunin exams are a very recent tradition amongst the elemental countries. If you look back into our history, you will find that not too long ago, our great nations were all at war." Sarutobai felt every eye on him, as he continued. "The Chunin exams are… something that is rarely understood. I do not want you to foolishly believe this is a forum to show off." His eyes fell to Naruto, who met his gaze. Sarutobai found himself wondering what had happened to the pale haired blond, his eyes gently tracing the two red dots upon Naruto's head. "You should know, that a ninja's true strength is only achieved in the heat of battle, where his life is on the line. The Chunin exams are not a place to show off the skills of our ninja. Instead, it is a replacement…"  
"A replacement for what?" Kiba wondered aloud, before being quickly silenced by Naruto's glare. Sarutobai smiled softly.  
"A good question. The Chunin exams are a replacement for war amongst the Elemental Countries." He replied. "Each and every one of you are the best Genin your village has to offer. It is you, not your village, who will fight with blood, sweat and tears for the pride and glory of your country."  
"Get on with it." A red haired boy growled. "I don't care about this conversation." Sarutobai sighed. Youth was sometimes so impatient.  
"Very well. I was only making sure that you did not think of these exams in a foolish manner. You are risking your life. Now, before…"  
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama." A sickly man stated. "But, as proctor of the final exam, I believe I should be the one to explain." Sarutobai nodded.  
"Very well, Hayate." He replied, stepping back, as Hayate took the limelight.  
"Very well. Everyone, before we move onto the finals, I need you to do something for me. We are having a preliminary round to see who will participate in the finals." Even as Hayate said the words, several Genin exploded with rage. Holding up his hands, Hayate silenced everyone. "Yes, I know, you all think you should be in the finals because you passed the second stage. However, during the finals, we have lords from all over attending. We simply don't have time to showcase you all."  
"So, was it all for nothing, then?" Zaku asked. Hayate shook his head.  
"It may be that the first two exams weren't hard enough, or that you are all extremely talented Genin. Honestly, I don't know. The problem is that there are simply too many of you. We need to cull the numbers." Hayate replied. "Now, this is how it's going to work. Up there…" Hayate pointed up into the rafters, where a large black screen was. "Is a screen that will randomly pick out two of you to do battle. The rest of you will wait in the stands up there. Now, as far as rules go, there are only three. First, what I say, goes. Second, if I say its over, its over. You may kill your opponent, but if I decide there is a clear winner, I will end the match. Finally, you may not endanger anyone not currently fighting. Thus, you may not use mass destruction Jutsu. If anyone wishes to quit, do so now."  
"I quit." Kabuto spoke up from the crowd. Hayate nodded.  
"Very well, you may leave." He stated, watching Kabuto walk away. "Okay, our first fight will be…" Hayate trailed off, as the board started scrolling through names. "Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi, everyone else, please wait in the stands."

_Forty five minutes later…_

"Hmm…" Hayate sighed in thought. "Not much of a batch from Konoha this year." Beside him, Sarutobai nodded.  
"They do seem a little sub par. Almost as if they got through on luck, not skill." He replied. "Regardless. The show must continue." Hayate nodded, as the board stopped.  
"Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba, please enter the arena." Hayate called, watching the pair leap to the floor. Naruto winced sharply as he landed, arousing Sarutobai's suspicions.  
"Naruto-kun is injured." He whispered. Hayate shrugged.  
"He won't always be able to fight in top condition. Hajime!" Hayate cried, beginning the battle.

"Hey, dead-last, if you give up, it'll save you the embarrassment." Kiba called. Naruto shrugged, ripping away his shredded jacket and t-shirt.  
"Sorry, mutt, but I never give up." He replied. "That's my Nindo." He winced as another shot of pain wracked through his spine.  
'Damn… using the whips hurt like hell. I have to avoid it…' Naruto thought, watching Kiba and Akamaru take a stance.  
"Your choice." Kiba growled. "Shikyaku no Jutsu! Jujin Bunshin!" Suddenly, it was impossible to tell Kiba and Akamaru apart, as two animalistic Kiba look-alikes stared at Naruto, their eyes feral. Naruto shrugged, ignoring the pain as best he could as his left humorous popped out of his shoulder. With a wrench, Naruto had a bone sword in hand.  
"Don't lose too quickly now, Kiba-teme." Naruto called, twirling the bone sword around in his hand. Kiba let out a growl, as the pair stood at a stand still.

Sakura sighed, as beside her, Ino threw up. Hinata blushed a little as she looked away, wiping a small trail of bile away from her mouth.  
"What the hell?" Ino asked. "Forehead, what the hell did he just do?"  
"Exactly what it looks like he did, Ino-buta. He made a sword out of his own bones." Sakura replied. "Now hush, I want to see this."  
"Ano… h-how do y-you get used to i-it?" Hinata asked. Sakura sighed.  
"Trust me, Hinata. Watching him pull out his arm doesn't seem so bad when you've seen him randomly pull bones out of his body and use them as spears. Besides, it looks far more disgusting when he pulls out that whip of his." Sakura replied. Hinata paled.  
"Ano… wh-what bone is t-the whip?" She asked, the entire Rookie Nine's attention on Sakura. Sakura sighed.  
"His spine." She replied glumly. Ino turned green.  
"I think I'm going to be sick again." She muttered.  
"Gatsuuga!" Kiba roared, as the two look-alikes turned into a veritable hurricane that spun at Naruto. The bone wielder didn't even flinch as he hurled his sword straight at the hurricane, firing off a barrage of bone bullets from his fingertips. Kiba let out a scream of pain as he went crashing to the floor, his left shoulder pierced, even as the second Kiba leapt to the side. Naruto swore aloud as he coughed up blood.  
'Damn it.' He thought. 'I'm going to have to be strategic here.' Kiba growled aloud as he got back to his feat, drawing a kunai and hurling it at Naruto. The Jinchuuriki rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the projectile.  
"What's wrong, Kibbles." Naruto snarled. "Can't do any better?"  
"Shut up. Gatsuuga!" Kiba roared again. Naruto swore, glancing around and finding a small bit of rubble left behind from Zaku's fight with Shino.  
'Perfect.' Naruto thought, forming a hand seal. Just as the Gatsuuga struck, Naruto vanished, leaving behind only a piece of rubble that was smashed to pieces. With a scream, Naruto ripped his shin out of his body, hurling the bone spear at Kiba's confused body.  
"Akamaru!" Kiba cried, as his partner went down, the spear in his shoulder. There was a puff of smoke, as Akamaru returned to his natural form, his fur caked with blood. "You'll pay for that, dead-last!"  
"Make me, Kibbles." Naruto taunted, blood dribbling down his chin. 'Have to keep it together… a little while longer.'

"Hayate, end the match." Sarutobai cried urgently, as Naruto threw up blood. Hayate nodded, stepping forward.  
"Inuzuka…" He started, but Naruto cut him off.  
"I'm not done yet!" He roared. "I can… still fight… a little longer." With that, Naruto shot several bone bullets at Kiba, watching the animal-nin dodge them and charge, his face feral.  
"It's over, Naruto!" He roared. Naruto smirked, his hand reaching up to his spine.  
"Not… by a long… shot." He muttered weakly, ripping his spine from his body. "Take this!" Kiba had no time to dodge, as the bone whip wrapped around his throat. Naruto snarled as he pulled it tight.  
"I win… Kibbles." He growled. Kiba glared at him, his face turning blue. Naruto didn't see the kunai until it was too late.  
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata screamed, as Naruto was impaled for the second time in twenty four hours. Naruto felt his vision cloud over, as he pulled even tighter.  
"DIE!" He screamed, only for the bone whip to be sliced in half by Hayate.  
"That's enough. Inuzuka Kiba is deemed to have been killed by strangulation. Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate cried, as Kiba's body smashed into the ground. Naruto let out a moan, as he fell to his knees, his hands blindly ripping the kunai out.  
"I… won…" He whispered, throwing up even more blood before collapsing in the pool of his own blood.

_Five days later…_

Soft breathing was the first thing he heard, as consciousness returned. Cracking open his eyes weakly, he was assaulted by an intense white light, meaning only one thing. He was within a hospital. He heard a gentle moan, and something shifted on his chest, arousing Naruto's interest. He opened his eyes again, ignoring the white glare, as he looked down at his chest, and the cute scene that awaited him there. Hinata was sound asleep on his chest, her hands curled into small balls, resting on his stomach and just over his heart. Her hair covered her closed eyes, and her mouth was a short, thin smile. Naruto couldn't help but ruffle her hair gently, as his eyes examined the surrounding room.  
"She hasn't left your side except for the essentials, you know." Sasuke stated from his seat against the wall. "She gave up her place in the preliminaries to watch over you."  
"She… shou…ldn't… hav…e." Naruto rasped. Sasuke smirked at him.  
"People rarely do what is best for them. Hinata-san has too kind a heart." Kakashi said from his place on the wall. "The doctors say you have an unknown illness. All they know is that your life has effectively been cut down to years." Naruto felt his eyes widen, but he said nothing.  
"Your body structure changed because of your Kekkai Genkai, Naruto." Sakura whispered, as she sat at his side. "Doctors don't know enough about your body to risk surgery."  
"I'm… dying…" Naruto whispered. Sakura nodded, tears trailing down her cheeks.  
"The finals are in three weeks, Naruto. You've been given a free pass to the last round." Kakashi stated. "The doctors say you will be able to perform light training next week, and after that, return to your regular schedule, but, you can't fight for longer then about half an hour at a time."  
"You need about an hours rest between battles." Sasuke muttered. "Otherwise, your body will give out again, like it did before." Naruto smiled softly, as his gaze returned to Hinata.  
"She… stayed… right?" He asked. Sasuke nodded.  
"Hai, she did." He replied. Sakura giggled, as Naruto closed his eyes, gently running his hand through Hinata's hair.  
"…thanks." He whispered, knowing she wouldn't hear, as he drifted back to sleep. Unknown to him, Hinata's eye had popped open.  
"Your w-welcome, Naruto-kun." She replied, but he was asleep again.

"Ugh…" Naruto murmured, as he returned to consciousness. Opening his eyes, he wasn't greeted by the white ceiling of the hospital. Instead, he found himself staring at Hinata's face.  
"Gomen, Naruto-kun." She whispered. Naruto shook his head very gently.  
"You…'re… much… nicer… to… lo…ok at… then… the… cei…ling…" Naruto replied. Hinata blushed a little as a small giggle left her throat.  
"Arigatou, Naruto-kun." She smiled, hiding her mouth with her hand as she giggled. Naruto moaned, as he began to sit up. Hinata's eyes flashed as he attempted to move, her hand pushing him back down before he had even gotten halfway into a sitting position.  
"No." She stated sternly. Naruto stared at the Hyuuga heiress in shock, as he realised what happened.  
"Y…ou rais…ed you…r voice…" He rasped. Hinata flinched, going red again.  
"Gomen…" She started, but was cut off by Naruto squeezing her hand.  
"Don…'t be…" He smiled. Hinata gave him a small grin.  
"How are y-you feeling, Naruto-kun?" She asked. Naruto moaned.  
"Could… be… bet…ter." He replied. Hinata sighed, rubbing his hand.  
"Rest, Naruto-kun." She muttered. Naruto let his eyelids droop again, letting himself fall asleep again.

"How is he?" Hinata turned slightly to regard her team-mate, as Shino walked into the room, standing by the bed.  
"He's weak." She whispered. "Very weak. It's…"  
"Discouraging." Shino finished for her. "Someone so strong, reduced to something so weak." Apparently, the bug-nin couldn't shake the sight of Naruto almost completely annihilating the Ame-nin single handed.  
"I want to be there for him." Hinata stated. Shino glanced at her.  
"… I won't stop you. Be careful of Kiba, though." Shino replied, leaving the room again. He paused at the door. "Give Uzumaki my regards." He stated. Hinata nodded.  
"I will."

_Two days later…_

"Remember, light training only." The doctor stated, as Naruto rubbed his shoulder as he walked away.  
"Yare, yare." He replied. Hinata bowed to the doctor.  
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't strain himself." She stated, before running off to catch up with Naruto as he made his way through the streets. Naruto didn't look at her, but he did slow his pace so that she could keep up easily. Despite being shorter then her, his strides were much faster.  
"Hinata, you don't have to be my keeper." Naruto stated. Hinata shook her head as she reached his side, matching his strides.  
"I know, Naruto-kun. I want to." She replied. "Besides, H-Hokage-sama made it a mission, so Otousan can't complain." Naruto didn't reply any further, as he continued walking. "Ano, are you going to replace the… hospital gown?"  
"I don't have anything to replace it with." Naruto replied. "My jumpsuits are useless with my bloodline. My bone weapons shred them too easily."  
"Ano… use a kimono and a obi." Hinata answered. "The obi keeps it from falling, and…"  
"I understand what your saying, Hinata." Naruto replied wearily. "But then we come to the other issue. Where am I going to find a kimono? Most shops won't sell to someone like me."  
"Nani?" Hinata was surprised. "Why not?"  
"I can't say." Naruto answered. "They just won't."  
"If they won't sell to you, then I'll buy it." Hinata replied. Naruto groaned.  
"You're not going to let me get out of this are you?" He asked. Hinata meekly shook her head.  
"Nope." She replied, a small smile on her face. Naruto chuckled.  
"Who are you, and what did you do with Hinata?" He asked. Hinata simply threw his own words back at him.  
"She grew up when her friend nearly died." Hinata replied with a grin. Naruto shrugged, as she suddenly took the lead, taking him towards the market district of Konoha.

"Ohayo, Hyuuga-san… you are not welcome here, demon." The shopkeeper called as Naruto and Hinata entered. Hinata frowned, as she gave the shopkeeper a glare, however, she was the least of the shopkeeper's worries. A nearby ninja wearing a mask of a monkey had drawn a kunai and placed it at the shopkeeper's throat.  
"Did I just hear you attempt to break the Sandaime's decree?" The ANBU asked, watching the shopkeeper sweat.  
"I… uhhh…"  
"That's what I thought." The ANBU stated, nodding to Naruto. "Go on, this fool won't bother you."  
"Come on, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered, grabbing his hand and dragging him down to the back of the store, where the more formal clothes were kept. "Take your pick, Naruto-kun." Naruto's breath hitched, as he examined the various gowns.  
"Hinata…" He started, but she waved him off.  
"Naruto-kun, you could buy a hundred kimono's and its unlikely to even put a dent in the Hyuuga estate." She replied. "Pick one." Naruto scanned through the shelves, until his eyes fell on a plain blue kimono, almost midnight blue but not quite. Grabbing it, Hinata nodded.  
"Get two more. I'll find an obi that matches." She whispered, searching through a nearby rack. Eventually, she pulled out a dark grey obi. Handing it to Naruto, she gently pushed him towards the change rooms. "Go on. Try it." Naruto felt his face go red.  
"Ano, I don't know how to tie a obi." He admitted. Hinata cocked her head to the side.  
"Put the kimono on, Naruto-kun. I'll show you after." She whispered, giving him a gentle shove. Naruto complied, walking into the change room. It wasn't long before he walked back out, holding the kimono closed. Hinata giggled, as she set about showing him how to tie it. Staring at the finished product, Hinata frowned.  
"Maybe it's a little too thick." She mused softly. "Wait here, Naruto-kun." Suddenly, she vanished back into the shop in search of something. A few minutes later, she was back with a dark grey sash. "Let's try this, Naruto-kun." She muttered, untying the obi. Almost before Naruto could blink, she had tied the sash around his waist, smiling at the finished work. "Ano, what do you think?" She asked, pointing at the mirror on the wall. Naruto grinned.  
"Not bad." He admitted, easily slipping an arm out of the kimono. "Now, if only I had some pants." Hinata flushed a little.  
"Ano…"  
"Thanks, Hinata." He muttered, slipping the arm back in. "Shall we go? I need to check up on my plants."  
"Hai." Hinata replied, as they walked towards the entrance. "Put it on the Hyuuga's tab, shopkeeper-san." She called, as the pair left. The ANBU cleared his throat.  
"Now that the kids are gone…" He started. The shopkeeper gulped.

"Sorry about the mess." Naruto muttered, as he picked his way through the apartment, avoiding empty ramen cups and spare pieces of paper. "I don't normally have guests."  
"It's okay, Naruto-kun." Hinata replied, staring into his kitchen, which, unlike the rest of the apartment, was immaculate. Naruto caught her staring into his kitchen, and couldn't help but chuckle as he walked into his room in search of some underwear and pants.  
"I had to learn to cook for myself pretty quickly." He called. "After getting food poisoning a few times because I didn't wash up, I made a point of keeping the kitchen clean, even if the rest of the place isn't." His quest finished, he walked back into the main room of his apartment, sporting a pair of orange pants under his kimono. Hinata smiled.  
"It's not too bad. A bit messy, though." She replied. Naruto shrugged, rummaging through his cupboard.  
"Hungry? All I've got is instant ramen, unfortunately. If I'd known I'd have guests, I would have acquired some food." Naruto asked.  
"Instant ramen is fine, Naruto-kun." Hinata answered, watching him go about multitasking. In five minutes, he'd both watered the plants and prepared two cups of instant ramen, setting one down in front of Hinata before gorging himself. Hinata giggled at the sight.  
"Naruto-kun, most are more reserved at the table." She admonished. Naruto shrugged.  
"Maybe, but I'm not most." He replied. Hinata could agree with that, as she set about eating the ramen in a much calmer fashion. The pair ate in silence, and all too soon there were a pair of finished ramen cups on the table.  
"Naruto-kun, how do you plan to train?" Hinata asked softly. Naruto shrugged.  
"Honestly, I'm not too sure. I don't know much about my bloodline." He muttered. "Maybe I should see Ojiji."  
"Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun." Hinata corrected. "He worked hard to earn his position. You can honour that by referring to him properly."  
"Maybe he did, but to me, he was always my Ojiji." Naruto replied. "For some reason, I don't think he minds."  
"Perhaps." Hinata accepted. "Sounds like the beginnings of a plan."  
"Hmm." Naruto didn't really answer, as he tossed the ramen cups in the bin. "Hinata, why are you doing this?"  
"Because I want to, Naruto-kun. No one made me do it." She answered. Naruto shook his head.  
"I don't understand." He muttered.  
"Sometimes things don't make sense, Naruto-kun." Hinata stated. "We just have to accept them."

Sarutobai was confused. The fact his desk was full of paperwork didn't help, either.  
"Ox, bring me everything we know about the Kaguya clan." Sarutobai called, knowing his guard would hear him. The ANBU flickered away in a flash, leaving the Hokage to his thoughts.  
'Naruto-kun has the Shikotsumyaku, that much is certain.' The aged man thought. 'But is his bloodline the cause of his disease? Nevertheless, it will be easy keeping him out of Danzo's hands, thankfully. I can easily argue that the disease may be genetic, and its only due to the Kyuubi that Naruto lived this long. Even if I know it isn't genetic, Danzo doesn't.' Glancing out the window, Sarutobai grabbed his pipe, lighting it with a practiced motion and taking a deep puff. "If only all my problems were so easy."  
"Hokage-sama, here is everything we have on the Kaguya clan." Ox stated, appearing in a flicker in front of Sarutobai's desk. "It appears their bloodline limit was rare, even for clan members."  
"Thank you, Ox. If Naruto arrives, please show him in." Sarutobai stated, as he flicked through the information. Not for the last time, he was thankful for Jiraiya's excellent spy network. He'd managed to obtain transcripts of the Kekkai Genkai's Hijutsu. Examining the files, Sarutobai frowned.  
"Clan member's with the Shikotsumyaku showed signs of an irreversible disease. Due to unfamiliarity with the subject's bodies, this disease is untreatable… Perhaps Tsunade of the Sennin could treat the illness, if given a body with the Kekkai Genkai to autopsy beforehand…" Sarutobai read. "Therein is the problem. Where am I going to find another ninja with the Shikotsumyaku?"  
"Ohayo, Ojiji." Naruto called, as both he and Hinata walked into the room. Sarutobai glanced up at him, reorganising the folder.  
"Ohayo, Naruto-kun, Hinata-san." The Sandaime stated. "What can I do for you?"  
"Ano, Naruto-kun was wondering if you have any information on his Kekkai Genkai." Hinata explained before Naruto could say anything rash. The Sandaime chuckled.  
"Well, take a seat, both of you. We may be here a while. How is it, Hinata, minding Naruto here?" Sarutobai asked. "I see you managed to get him wearing something a little more formal."  
"It's more for the ease of using my bone weapons, Ojiji." Naruto explained. "My jumpsuit got shredded when I used them extensively."  
"I see. Well, Naruto, I do know about your Kekkai Genkai. Tell me, have either of you heard of the Kaguya?" The Hokage asked. He could almost see the light bulb go off in Hinata's head.  
"Ano, weren't they a clan in Kirigakure famous for…" She trailed off. Sarutobai waved her on.  
"What, Hinata?" He pressed.  
"War…" Hinata whispered. "They were famous for waging war." Sarutobai nodded.  
"Indeed, the Kaguya were Kiri's shock troops during the Third Shinobi war. After the war, however, they felt their talents were going to waste, so they staged a very unsuccessful coup. As far as anyone knows, they are all dead." Sarutobai sighed. "They are the clan that originally possessed the Shikotsumyaku, the Dead Bone Pulse, or rather, Naruto-kun, your Kekkai Genkai. It was rare, though, even amongst clan members, to possess it. Bearers of the Shikotsumyaku developed an irreversible disease that simply isn't treatable due to our lack of knowledge about the inner workings of the Shikotsumyaku."  
"So I'm going to die." Naruto state glumly. Sarutobai shook his head.  
"Just because reports say the Kaguya are dead, does not make it so. If you ever encounter a Kaguya bearing their Kekkai Genkai in battle, make sure to bring the body back to Konoha. We may be able to treat you by examining the body." The Sandaime explained. "In any case, the Shikotsumyaku works by infusing chakra into the bodies calcium, allowing the user to manipulate his bones. Honestly, I can't even begin to understand it, but I imagine you can, Naruto-kun. These scrolls contain the techniques of the Kaguya that we managed to steal from their compound after the massacre." With that, the Hokage handed Naruto a set of three scrolls. "Use them well, Naruto."  
"Ano, how does Naruto-kun have the Shikotsumyaku?" Hinata asked. Sarutobai folded his hands together.  
"Honestly, I'm not sure." He replied. "I suspect his family has at least possessed a dormant Kekkai Genkai gene for a few generations. Perhaps the union of his parent's blood awakened the dormant gene. Kekkai Genkai is a very complicated subject, Hinata-san. Not every bloodline trait is dominant like the Byakugan." Hinata nodded her acceptance of the explanation.  
"Ojiji, what will happen to me?" Naruto asked. "Will the mummy man get me?"  
"Danzo won't get anywhere near you, Naruto-kun." The Sandaime said softly. "He thinks he can use you to build an army, but my counter argument would render his argument useless. Don't worry about it."  
"Ano, I don't understand." Hinata admitted. Naruto glanced at her.  
"Bloodlines are adored by the council." He explained. "The more the better. The council would turn me into little more then a baby maker if it meant the resurrection of the bloodline."  
"The problem for the council is the disease." The Sandaime added. "I can very easily argue that its only Naruto's ridiculous heal factor that's let him live this long. Any lesser man would have succumbed during their childhood. To the council, the bloodline is dead."  
"What if you fail?" Hinata asked. Sarutobai chuckled.  
"Then I will just have to remind the council that we are not a democracy. We are a military dictatorship." Sarutobai finished. Naruto chuckled.  
"Thanks, Ojiji."  


* * *

Jutsu Glossary

_Jujin Bunshin (Man-beast Doppelganger)  
D-rank Ninjutsu  
Used exclusively by the Inuzuka clan to clone them by transforming their animal companion. In conjunction with the Shikyaku no Jutsu, it becomes impossible to tell the two apart._

_Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)  
D-rank Ninjutsu  
A Jutsu that effectively replicated the effects of Naruto's initial Kyuubi form. The users nails lengthen, as do their canines, and their actions become animalistic. Only the Inuzuka clan uses this technique._

_Gatsuuga (Dual Piercing Fang)  
C-rank Taijutsu, 0-5 metres  
The user and his animal partner spin together to form a drill, which is powerful enough to drill through stone. This technique can also be performed alone._

_Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)  
D-rank Ninjutsu  
By using his chakra, a Shinobi can move so fast between two points that it looks like he's teleporting. However, there are extreme drawbacks to such movement. The user must know exactly where they are going, and they will arrive exactly at where they intended. It is difficult to use the Shunshin for combat purposes, simply because of the required focus. Featured in this chapter was the regular Shunshin, which leaves behind a cloud of smoke._

"**We are not a democracy. We are a military dictatorship." A paraphrasing of an similar line given by Tsunade in reference to Danzo and the council in one of the Missing Hokage challenges. Honestly, I found the line absolutely hilarious when I first read it (probably because I'd just read chapter 450, the irony was too much). Just like Tsunade to put it to the council like that. I thought if Tsunade could get away with it, Hiruzen could too. I'd credit the story it came from, but I can't remember which one it was, and I'm too lazy to scan all of them until I find it. If someone knows which Missing Hokage challenge it came from, drop me a PM or a review and I'll fix it up with a credit.**

**You know, looking back on this chapter (and I'm on chapter 4 right now), it occurs to me that Naruto probably tied with Kiba, rather then won (Sakura and Ino pulled something similar, from memory, but its been a while. To tell you the truth, I don't remember how Naruto won anymore. I've got to dig up my copies of the Anime.). Honestly, though I'm more concerned about how I've portrayed the disease. Even now, I'm wondering if the onset was too sudden (although Kimimaro's was almost as sudden). Hmm… maybe I'll lengthen chapter 1 at a later date and include the disease already taking hold even then. What do you guys think? While we're on that line of thought, is it too much of a stretch that Hinata would give up her place in the exams to look after Naruto? I don't think it is, but I want opinions.**

**Thanks, guys. Remember to review. Oh, a cookie to anyone who can guess who the ANBU was.**


	3. Three Weeks to Destiny

**Cookies to XV-Dragon and koolbanana for guessing the ANBU, even if XV misspelled it. It was Yamato. Now, as soon as I work out how to put my hand through your computer screen and give you two a cookie, I will. Damn laws of physics…**

_Lesson on Shikotsumyaku: The Disease  
Tsunade: Welcome, everyone to today's lesson on Kekkai Genkai. Today…  
Gaara: Get on with it.  
Tsunade: Very well. Today, we will be examining the Shikotsumyaku and its inherent bloodline disease. This disease is chronic, and affects the victim from the moment his bloodline awakens…  
Kimimaro: Excuse me, Tsunade-san, but I have a question. Why is Naruto-kun's disease almost as advanced as mine is, when he only just awakened it?  
Tsunade: That's a good question. I'll explain in a minute. Now, victims of the disease show some very dangerous symptoms, like vomiting blood and if they act under strain for too long, they can fall unconscious. Unfortunately, due to our lack of knowledge of the Shikotsumyaku, we cannot treat the disease. Now, as Kimimaro said, Naruto has possessed the disease for approximately five days, as opposed to Kimimaro's several years, and already shows advanced signs of the disease. This can be easily explained. Naruto, how often do you eat ramen?  
Naruto: Uh… at least once a day. Usually twice…  
Hinata: Naruto-kun! Ramen is not healthy.  
Tsunade: There is your answer… The Shikotsumyaku awakens at different times for every user. Due to Naruto's malnutrition, he literally has no immune system, and his acquiring of his bloodline was hampered as a result. When it did finally awaken, Naruto suffered injuries that prevented his body from recovering from the strain of fighting Orochimaru, and said strain never got released the next day. Naruto, with what you did to yourself, you may as well have fought enemies six hours straight. If it weren't for the Kyuubi, you'd have died from the common cold by now. Kimimaro's immune system was good enough to fight off the disease for a small period of time, and he does have access to Kabuto, one of the best doctors in the world, to help slow it down.  
Naruto: As interesting as this is, Baa-chan, the author is getting impatient. How bout we wrap this up later.  


* * *

Chapter 3,  
Three weeks to Destiny_

"Naruto-kun, that's enough." Hinata cried, her left hand stopping Naruto from pulling out his humorous. Naruto glanced at her, as she gently eased the bone out, tossing it aside and watching it crumble to dust.  
"I don't get it." Naruto admitted, as Hinata guided him back to where she had set up a small picnic. "Why can't I get any of the dances right? I can't even perform the Teshi Sendan anymore, and I know I used to do it."  
"You're trying too hard, Naruto-kun." Hinata replied, wiping her own face with a towel even as she passed one to Naruto, who wiped himself down before slipping his arms back into the sleeves of his kimono. "Ano, maybe you're doing it the wrong way."  
"Ah… come again?" Naruto asked, as Hinata opened the two bento's, passing one to Naruto.  
"What is your definition of dance, Naruto-kun?" She asked curiously. Naruto shrugged.  
"Something gentle… graceful… wait, you mean I'm getting it wrong because I need to dance more?" He retorted. Hinata giggled, popping a rice ball into her mouth.  
"No, silly." She replied, still stifling a giggle. "Dancing is graceful and fluid, yes, but it requires flexibility and balance. Before you were relying on instinct, and every single time, the bone came out the same way…"  
"I need to be more flexible." Naruto muttered. "Flexible… flexible… acrobatic!" Hinata flinched at his sudden yell.  
"Ano…" Suddenly, Naruto was staring at her.  
"Hinata, can you teach me that?" He asked, hopeful. Hinata giggled, as she wiped a piece of rice from his chin.  
"I'll try, Naruto-kun." She replied, holding up a finger. "But first, you need a break."

The Sandaime let out a sigh as he walked into the council chambers, eyeing the gathered men and women that made up the clan and civilian councils. By his side, Homura and Koharu both let out sighs.  
"This is going to be a long meeting, Hiruzen-kun." Koharu muttered, breathing in deeply. "The council won't want to compromise on this."  
"Indeed." Homura added. "Your main opponent, however, will be Danzo, as always. Watch what he says carefully, Hiruzen. I have a feeling he will pull out all the guns."  
"What he says is irrelevant." Hiruzen replied. "As far as I can tell, gaining the Shikotsumyaku is lethal to the bearer. Naruto-kun only lasted this long because of the Kyuubi."  
"You and I both know that's a lie, Hiruzen-kun." Koharu stated, calling his bluff. "Your right, though. We don't know if his non-existent immune system would pass on to his offspring. It's simply too great a risk on the boy's psyche. Be careful, though."  
"Danzo won't stop until he has won." Homura quipped. "What if you lose?"  
"Then I will have to remind Danzo who rules Konoha." Hiruzen grunted. "I will have to remind him just who is Hokage." Nodding, the two elders moved away and took their seats, as Sarutobai sat down in his place.  
"This council meeting is now open." He called. "Our first topic of this afternoon is the budget of accommodation for the Chunin exams."  
"The Daimyo of Hi no Kuni has given us a grant of 1,000,000 ryo to ensure the satisfaction of visiting dignitaries." Homura elaborated. "Do we all agree this is enough?"  
"Who is coming?" Hiashi asked softly. Komura popped open a scroll, checking the list.  
"As of this moment, we have confirmation from the Kazekage, the Mizukage, the Daimyo's of Kaze, Shi, Yuki, Tsu and Rei no Kuni and the emperor, in addition to our own Daimyo." She stated. "We also have unconfirmed bookings from several small nations and the leader of Hoshigakure no Sato. Estimated costs for the current bookings are at 750,000 ryo."  
"I believe we should extend the budget by 400,000, just to cover all bases, Hokage-sama." Shikaku spoke up. Hiruzen nodded.  
"Very well, all in favour?" There was a resounding sound of 'Hai' in the air. "Very well, motion carried. What is next on the agenda?"  
"The hospital is requesting additional funding. Apparently several doctors are interested in case N-7982." Homura spoke up. "For those unaware, case N-7982 relates to the unknown disease possessed by one Uzumaki Naruto. In addition, several sections in the hospital are understaffed and…"  
"Pardon me for interrupting…" Hiashi spoke up, interrupting Danzo before he could speak. "But, as my daughter is exposed to Uzumaki on a regular basis under mission NA-X7923, I feel it is prudent to ask. Is the disease contagious?"  
"As far as doctors can determine, the disease is not contagious." Hiruzen answered. "The disease, even if it were, seems to seek out blood containing Naruto's Kekkai Genkai. It would be harmless to others."  
"As I was saying, several sections of the hospital are understaffed and the ICU is short of beds. What are the councils views?" Homura stated, finishing his statement. Inoichi sighed.  
"I think we may need this funding. The doctors are a resource we as a village cannot do without. That leads to the problem, where will the money come from?" He mused. Hiashi nodded.  
"I agree. If nothing else, we must research Uzumaki's disease and be sure it is not contagious. We must accept that, if it does spread, there is the chance it could adapt to another bloodline." Hiashi agreed. A civilian scoffed.  
"Just treat the brat like you do everyone else." He grunted. Hiashi turned and glared at him.  
"And how do you propose we do that?" He asked. "According to my daughters reports, Uzumaki's chakra network is no longer that of a regular human. Combined with the doctor's reports of his changed anatomy, and we are trying to treat a cancer in something we do not even begin to understand. What you ask is like us asking you to perform Ninjutsu, right now." Hiashi retorted. Hiruzen raised a hand, preventing an argument from breaking out.  
"Enough. We are not here to discuss Uzumaki's treatment or lack thereof. We are here to discuss the hospitals funding." He called. Hiashi bowed slightly.  
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama." He uttered. Tsume sighed.  
"That does raise a valid point, though. What if Uzumaki's disease adapts to another bloodline?" She asked. Hiruzen shook his head.  
"I do not believe that will be an issue. It is unlikely that the disease is contagious. If it is, then we can at least treat it." He stated. "Unfortunately, Naruto will probably end up dying at the hands of the disease."  
"Then we should breed him and preserve the bloodline." Danzo growled. Koharu glared at him.  
"And how do you prepose to do that, Danzo?" She growled straight back. "We have no idea what this disease actually is. For all we know, the boy should already be dead, and it's only due to the Kyuubi that he still lives."  
"I support Koharu's view on that subject." Homura spoke up. "It's cruel enough that Uzumaki will leave behind friends and loved ones. We do not need to add another burden to his shoulders. Think of how the mother would feel, losing both her child and the father. It is safer for the village if we simply allow the Shikotsumyaku to die out." Danzo gritted his teeth.  
"What about the flip side?" He shot back. "What if the disease…"  
"I can verify that the disease is genetic to those with the Shikotsumyaku." Hiruzen spoke up. "In the event that his child does not bear the bloodline, it would simply vanish. Naruto is the last with the Kekkai Genkai, unless you think it would be worth the risk breeding him into the Hyuuga, and finding out whether it is dominant or recessive. Mind you, I'm not sure Hiashi would agree to such measures." Hiashi glanced away.  
"You are correct, Hokage-sama. I will not subject any in my clan to such heartbreak for no reason." He said solemnly. "To do so would be to risk breaking the Hyuuga clan up even further. The clan is too fragile at this point in time to risk it, even if I did go along with it."  
"What is Uzumaki's life expectancy?" Shikaku asked. Homura took over for the Hokage, reading straight from the boy's medical profile.  
"If we could somehow miraculously treat the disease, Uzumaki is expected to be able to remain a active ninja until age 28, where he will have to halt being a ninja due to the strain of fast travelling. He would be able to take short distance and non-strenuous missions until age 35, where he would either a) become Hokage like he says he will or b) be forced to retire for health reasons. He would be expected to die at 60 years of age, 20 years lower then the average life expectancy. Untreated, we expect the disease to claim Naruto by age 20, most likely during combat. I don't see Uzumaki halting his ninja career, unfortunately." He explained. "If he were to quit being a ninja tomorrow, Uzumaki is expected to be claimed by the disease at age 28, if no complications occur." Danzo snorted.  
"Then we should breed him now." He exclaimed, as Homura continued.  
"However, doctors also say that the likelihood of the Shikotsumyaku being passed on to his children is minimal. He also says that, due to the unknown nature of the disease, it is likely that any children of Naruto's will be stillborns. Those that aren't will either a) not have the Kekkai Genkai or b) are expected to die soon after birth due to the inheritance of Uzumaki's bad immune system. The few that pass through the net, so to speak, are expected to die before becoming ninja." He finished. "Under the circumstances, I must advise that Uzumaki not be subjected to the clan restoration act under article 692. To do so would be to erode his faith in Konoha. If Uzumaki were to leave, we would have to risk him finding a country that does know how to treat the illness. Maybe Kiri possesses this knowledge, maybe it doesn't. The point is if he leaves and Kiri does treat him, Kiri will have his undying loyalty."  
"Let us settle this once and for all and put it to vote." Danzo cried. Hiruzen sighed.  
"All in favour?" Danzo raised his hand. He was the only one. "All opposed." Three quarters of the room raised there hands, the rest abstaining. "Very well, Uzumaki Naruto will not be subjected to article 692. Any attempts of Naruto's to have children will be of his own volition. Back to the issue at hand, how are we to handle the hospitals request?"  
"I advise that we supply them with 500,000 ryo from the surplus." Shikaku stated. "As troublesome as it is, we need to understand Uzumaki's disease, even if we can't treat it with him. If it somehow spreads and adapts, the Hyuuga and the Aburame would be devastated, not to mention we would possibly lose Jounin Hatake and the last Uchiha."  
"I agree." Shibi stated monotonously.  
"All in favour?" Hiruzen asked. Most of the room gave him the patented 'are you joking' look before raising his or her hand. "Thought so. Next is the…"

_Several days later…_

"Ano, Naruto-kun, you need to relax." Hinata whispered, as she gently guided Naruto through the motions of one of the more fluid Jyuuken Kata. "Let it flow, it's like a river." Naruto gave a soft grunt in reply as he pivoted, slamming his palm in the wooden dummy. Suddenly, to the pair's surprise, a bone spike shot out of Naruto's palm and through the dummy.  
"Yanagi no Mai." Naruto whispered, pulling the spike back out of the dummy. "The Dance of the Willow." He blinked, watching the spike turn to dust. Hinata smiled, watching the boy stare at his hand as if it contained the secrets of the world.  
"Naruto-kun, do you think you can repeat that?" She asked. Naruto nodded, closing his eyes.  
"Yanagi no Mai!" He cried, as a second spike shot from his palm, Naruto lunging past the dummy and impaling a tree. "I did it… My first use of the Shikotsumyaku under my own power."  
"Naruto-kun, let's take a break." Hinata called. Naruto nodded, replacing his arms in the sleeves of his kimono.  
"Hai… that takes more concentration then I thought." He muttered. Hinata shrugged as she pulled him down against the tree beside her.  
"Naruto-kun, who do you think will make it to the finals?" Hinata asked. Naruto frowned, thinking.  
"Not Gaara or Sasuke. They'll bugger themselves against each other. Shikamaru will give up after his first round, and, as strong as Kankurou looks, I don't think he can beat Shino. Shino will beat whoever wins out of Sasuke and Gaara's fight easily, and probably lose to Neji, who Shikamaru won't even pretend to try and fight. So I'll probably be fighting Neji in the finals because of his sheer dumb luck." Naruto answered. Hinata nodded.  
"That's what Kurenai-sensei said would probably happen, too." She said. "I think you will beat Neji-niisan easily."  
"Ano, why?" Naruto asked. Hinata smiled at him, withdrawing the three scrolls containing Shikotsumyaku techniques within them.  
"One thing you need to know about Neji-niisan is that he sees ranged weapons as beneath him. He will only use Jyuuken." Hinata explained, a little red. "Against you, Jyuuken is near useless, as your chakra system is so twisted that any sealed Tenketsu simply pop back open a moment later when you alter your bones. So, Neji is probably going to resort to the Hyuuga deathblow. He'll use Hakkeshou, Sanjyuuni Shou to seal thirty-two of your Tenketsu, then he'll finish with Hakkeshou Oiuchi to force those Tenketsu open and implode your heart."  
"So, I need to stop him from attacking me." Naruto muttered. "Ano, Hinata, what are you doing?" Hinata began rummaging through the scrolls, until she finally stopped, showing him a technique.  
"Karamatsu no Mai." Naruto read. "The Dance of the Larch…" Hinata nodded.  
"If Neji-niisan can't strike you, he can't win." Hinata explained. "Jyuuken needs to make contact with your body to work. Neji-niisan can't use your bones as a proxy."  
"I see. The problem is, can I learn it in two weeks?" Naruto asked. Hinata smiled, leaning in to his ear.  
"Ano, I'm sure we can find some motivation, N-Naruto-kun." She whispered. Naruto blushed a little at her hot breath.  
"Hinata, watch it." He whispered right back. "If I didn't know better… I'd say your trying to seduce me!" Suddenly, Naruto rolled onto the heiress, tickling her. She retaliated in kind.  
It wasn't until much later they had stopped and decided that they were probably better off leaving their training to the next day.

"Hinata-sama." Neji spat as he walked past. "Hiashi-sama requests your presence." Hinata sighed. Apparently the sight of the girl who had refused to fight him in favour for staying with Naruto was too much.  
"Arigatou, Neji-niisan." She replied, as she nimbly made her way through the halls. On the way, she passed her little sister, Hanabi, who was brazenly chasing down a branch family child, the pair laughing as children should. Gently knocking at the door to her father's office, she let herself in and bowed.  
"Otou-sama." She whispered. Hiashi stared at her, before amusement spread over his face.  
"No stutter this time, Hinata?" He asked. Hinata blushed as the realisation finally dawned on her.  
'I've stopped stuttering?' She wondered as she spoke up. "No, Otou-sama."  
"I wonder if that's a good or a bad thing." Hiashi muttered, his fingers drumming a small stack of papers. "These papers are copies of the reports you have sent to the Hokage, Hinata. What I have found there, I must say, is rather interesting." Hinata couldn't help the feeling of dread that washed over her.  
'Is he going to take me away from Naruto-kun?' She thought. Hiashi seemed to guess what was on her mind.  
"Take a seat, Hinata-chan." He stated. "We are alone here. You may speak your mind."  
"Are you… reassigning me?" Hinata asked. Hiashi shook his head.  
"No, not at all." He replied. "You may be a failure as a Hyuuga, as far as the council is concerned, but your skills as a ninja are impressive. No, what interests me are some of your analysis in these reports. In report 4, paragraph 7 you mention that you believe the Shikotsumyaku is an overriding bloodline trait. I want you to explain."  
"Ano… From my examining of the Kaguya history and my guesses of Naruto-kun's parentage, I can only determine that the Shikotsumyaku only appears in Kaguya children that have been exposed to other bloodlines." Hinata explained. "According to the family history, over the last one hundred years only twenty three Kaguya have ever possessed the Shikotsumyaku. Of those twenty-three, not including Naruto-kun, twenty have clearly traceable parents possessing a Kekkai Genkai other then the Shikotsumyaku, whilst the last three have debateable parentage. I have talked to Naruto-kun's doctor, and he believes that my analysis is the only valid explanation. Naruto-kun must come from a clan."  
"Hmm… He does not, Hinata-chan. I am aware of Naruto's parentage, and he does not come from a clan. However, his father did possess an ability that could be likened to a Kekkai Genkai. Perhaps that minor genetic deformity was enough to set the overriding trait off." Hiashi mused. "This is troubling information, Hinata-chan. Be careful who you share it with. There are those on the council that would seek to wield Naruto's Kekkai Genkai as a weapon. In report 6, paragraph 11; you mention that Naruto does not have a natural aptitude for using his Kekkai Genkai. Please, explain this as well."  
"Otou-sama, t-the Shikotsumyaku's Jutsu are all labelled Dances. For that reason, I determined that the user must need flexibility and balance to use them. This analysis was proven today when Naruto-kun accidentally created a bone spike whilst… performing Jyuuken Kata 6." Hinata finished at a whisper. Hiashi shrugged off the divulging of Hyuuga secrets, though.  
"Interesting. Whilst he can create them instinctively, whilst actually learning the techniques he has to learn from scratch, like the Sharingan…" Hiashi muttered to himself. "Perhaps… Hinata, what exactly can this Shikotsumyaku do?"  
"Ano… Naruto-kun won't explain it, but from what I can gather, it allows him to manipulate bones." She started.  
"That's obvious, Hinata…" Hiashi interrupted. Hinata shrugged, continuing.  
"In addition, it seems he has accelerated bone regrowth and cell reproduction, particularly when using the Shikotsumyaku Dances. He never shows sign of injury, even after splitting his palm open. I'm not sure, but I think he may be able to manipulate bone growth within other bodies as well, to the regular human standard. If someone broke a bone, I believe he could fix it without a medical Ninjutsu." She finished. "That's all I know, Otou-sama."  
"Very well. Continue your mission watching over Naruto. If any complications arise, see the Hokage or me." Hiashi said. Hinata nodded.  
"Hai, Otou-sama." She replied. Hiashi smiled.  
"Good luck, Hinata-chan." He whispered as she left the office, returning to the reports she had written.

_A week later…_

"Karamatsu no Mai!" Naruto cried, watching the bones sprout from his arm, turning it into a miniature porcupine. "I got it, Hinata."  
"Ano, it needs to be faster. Maybe you need more chakra?" She asked. Naruto shook his head.  
"I'm using more then enough chakra. It's not moving fast enough." He replied. Hinata's eyes went wide as she realised the problem, control.  
"Have you mastered the tree climbing exercise?" Hinata asked. Naruto nodded, as the bones returned to their place under his skin.  
"Hai." He replied simply.  
"Water walking?" Hinata pressed. Naruto raised an eyebrow.  
"What's water walking?" He asked. Hinata smiled.  
"Meet me at the Hyuuga compound in half an hour." She stated. "And bring something you don't mind getting wet." Before Naruto could say a word, she was gone.  
"Jesus, who is she and what happened to the old shy Hinata?" He wondered briefly, as he began to make his way to his apartment. It didn't take long for him to grab an old jumpsuit before heading to the Hyuuga manor. It didn't really surprise him that she was out the front of the compound, waiting for him, when he arrived.  
"This way, Naruto-kun." She called, waving for him to follow her. Naruto shook his head and follow, as Hinata led him to the bathhouse.  
"Uh, Hinata…" Naruto spoke up, as she walked in. With a sigh, he followed, too.  
The bathhouse was empty. He was somewhat thankful for that.  
"Ano, Naruto-kun, this one." Hinata called from a small spring across the room. Naruto dutifully walked over, a frown finding its way to his face.  
The spring was steaming… Naruto had a feeling this wasn't going to end well. Hinata gave him a small smile as she took off her sandals, before stepping out onto the water. Unlike an ordinary human being, she didn't sink. Instead, she stood on the surface, a small blue light resonating from each of her feet.  
"Water walking is similar to tree climbing, Naruto-kun." Hinata explained. "Except the chakra needed to stay afloat changes constantly." Naruto cocked his head to the side, tentatively putting a foot on the water and applying chakra. He slowly put more pressure on it until all of his weight was on it, the blue aura holding him afloat. With a grin, he took another step.  
He didn't even make it halfway through the step when he fell face first into the water. With a cry of pain, Naruto shot back out of the water, red as a lobster.  
"You knew…" He accused, pointing a finger at Hinata as she giggled. "You knew that water was boiling!"  
"Ano, Kurenai-sensei told us when we were learning that hot water was the best incentive to learn." Hinata replied. "The sooner you learn the exercise, the sooner you stop getting burned." With that, Hinata sat down on the waters surface, smiling, as Naruto went for another try. It failed as badly as his first.  
"This is going to take a while." She whispered to herself, stifling a giggle with her hand as Naruto shot out of the water. "Ano, try more chakra, Naruto-kun." Naruto obeyed, and didn't even make the first step when the water shot up around him, scolding him anyway.  
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Naruto howled, jumping back. "Hinata!"  
"Not too much, Naruto-kun." She explained. "Too much, and the water will blow up at you. Too little, and you will fall right through. Find the middle." Naruto groaned, trying again. Hinata sighed, a small smile on her face.  
This really was going to take a while.

_Day of the Chunin exams…_

"Okay, Naruto-kun, show me one more time." Hinata called, watching Naruto fly through the few dances he had learned over the month. Naruto sighed as he gracefully spun full circle, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Karamatsu no Mai!" Naruto cried, bone spikes erupting from his entire body, turning him into a living porcupine. He spun twice, allowing the bones to disintegrate as he flexed his fingers, two bone swords popping out of his shoulders.  
"Tsubaki no Mai!" Naruto cried again, ripping the swords out easily as he lunged at a tree trunk, piercing it through with several stabs before performing a set of exquisite cuts, finally finishing by impaling the twin bone swords deep into the trunk. Leaping backwards, he landed in a crouch, swinging his arms about in front of him.  
"Teshi Sendan!" Each swing sent a barrage of bone bullets at the tree trunk, which was beginning to show signs of wear, the sides splintering and peeling off in strips. Naruto finished with a charge, revelling in what had become his favourite Dance.  
"Yanagi no Mai!" He cried for the last time, as a pair of bone blades shot from his hands, as he sliced straight through the tree trunk, reappearing on the other side. To a civilian's eye, it looked like Naruto had teleported, but Hinata was no civilian. Her eyes could pick up movement far better then any Genin in her year, except perhaps Neji, although neither had been inclined to find out.  
Most ninja would have assumed Naruto had gone around the tree trunk, slicing deep into it, but in reality, she had seen his two slashes go right through it, before using a quick application of the battle version of the Shunshin, Shunpo, to appear behind it. She also knew that, in a fight, Naruto probably would have followed up with the Karamatsu no Mai.  
The tree wavered a little, before falling down to the side, giving Hinata a clear view of the once blond now white haired boy, who turned and looked at her with a small smile on his face. If one didn't know what to look for, they would have thought he hadn't broken a sweat, but Hinata could see the slight squinting of his eyes.  
He was slightly winded. Not tired, and certainly not exhausted, but he was slightly winded. The disease was taking a greater effect on him then she thought.  
"How was that, Hinata?" He asked. "Think you can let me take on your cousin, now?"  
"Don't get cocky, Naruto-kun." She replied, smiling as she tapped his shoulder. "Neji-niisan might not make it to the finals."  
"If he doesn't, then my fight will be quick." Naruto replied. "He's the only person who has a chance of getting there remotely fresh." Hinata smiled, holding her hands behind her back as she stared at him.  
"Well, Naruto-kun, let's go. The finals start in fifteen minutes." She called. Naruto chuckled in reply, replacing his arms in the sleeves of his kimono.  
"Well, then, Hinata lead on." He replied, following the heiress as the pair made their way to the village, and the exams.  
'I have a bad feeling about this. Something feels like that snake.' He thought absently. In his cage, the Kyuubi stirred slightly.  
'**A monkey fighting a snake amongst the leaves, how interesting.'** He mused, before closing its eyes again. He would bide his time and wait. He had all the time in the world.  
But first, he needed to figure out what the hell that disease was.

* * *

Jutsu Glossary

_Shunpo no Jutsu (Flash Steps Technique), Original  
C-rank Chakra Control/Ninjutsu hybrid, 0-5 metres  
The combat variant of Shunshin, allowing someone to literally vanish in a blur of motion. No one truly understands how the technique works anymore, though. All anyone can identify is that it allows someone to more or less teleport to another location, although disappearance and reappearance times vary depending on the chakra control of the user. It is rumoured that the Yondaime Hokage may have succeeded in deconstructing the technique, although, if he did, he didn't go public with it.  
Basis: Honestly, the concept of this came from playing too much Ninja STORM, where several Ninja are clearly capable of something to this description (actually, just about every adult in the game uses what I've dubbed this as). Unfortunately, it wouldn't make sense to call this Shunshin, because that would imply a certain mastery over the technique several characters simply do not have (particularly Lee, who can't even use Ninjutsu. He's fast, I know, but he's not THAT much faster then the other characters with his weights on. Kimimaro is another example, since he has never even demonstrated the possibility of knowing Shunshin. Granted, he wasn't around long, but still…). The name came from reading too many other Naruto fanfics that use Shunpo as a descriptor of a technique allowing one to move at a faster speed then usual. I believe Shunpo itself came from Bleach, where the Shinigami displayed something akin to supersonic speed, but that's neither here nor there._

_Jyuuken (Gentle Fist)  
Un-ranked Taijutsu style  
The clan fighting style used by the Hyuuga, it works by delivering palm and finger strikes to the 361 Tenketsu's housed in the human body, sealing them with chakra and preventing the enemy from utilising them in Jutsu. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, a Byakugan that has reached a certain level of maturity is required to use Jyuuken, or the practitioner will not even see the Tenketsu, and will have to fight blind. This style is relatively useless on bearers of the Shikotsumyaku due to their changed body structure, which forces all Tenketsu open the moment they alter the composition of their bones. It is also useless on anyone who knows the In'yu Shometsu, due to the insane speed of which they can force their bodies to heal._

_Hakkeshou, Sanjyuuni Shou (Eight Trigrams, Thirty Two Palms)  
Un-ranked Taijutsu, 0-5 metres  
A Hyuuga clan secret and the watered down version of Hakkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou. Using the Byakugan and his own speed, a Hyuuga can strike 32 of the 361 Tenketsu of the human body within seconds. Due to the secret Hakke symbol created by this technique, it is almost impossible for the target to muster enough will to dodge. The whole technique, on average, takes about 4 seconds to complete. Masters can do so in significantly less time._

_Hakkeshou Oiuchi (Eight Trigrams Final Blow), Original  
Un-ranked Taijutsu, 0-5 metres  
One of the Hyuuga's most closely guarded secrets, due to its rather widespread use within the clan. Due to its properties of instantly killing others, it was given the nickname Hyuuga Deathblow. It works by forcing open the Tenketsu's of the target with a large jet of your own chakra, which, instead of bursting out of the opened Tenketsu, would be redirected back into the target. Whilst rather useless if less then ten Tenketsu were sealed, the Jutsu becomes very dangerous when twenty or more are sealed. If too much chakra re-enters the body, it is sourced to the heart, which then implodes. Unlike other technique's, this Jutsu requires the Tenketsu over the targets heart to be open for the strike.  
Basis: Based off a similar Jutsu found in Frankto's Naruto D20 Source book, although this one becomes deadlier much faster. It always struck me odd that, for such a dangerous fighting style, there was never an instant kill move. Sealing Tenketsu is all well and good, but nothing to really fear if you're a Taijutsu user, where speed is more important then chakra. This gives Neji a plausible way to defeat Lee every single time they battle, cause, let's face it, Neji has no chance against that sort of skill without some trump card (remembering that he's only just learnt the Kaiten and Rokujyuuyon Shou)._

_Karamatsu no Mai (Dance of the Larch)  
Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-5 metres  
Quite literally the ultimate defence against Taijutsu, the Karamatsu no Mai causes the user to sprout bone spikes all over their body, like branches of a tree, making it impossible to attack them without being skewered. The user can even spin rapidly after growing the spikes, shredding any that are misfortunate enough to be too close. Personally, this is my second favourite dance._

___Yanagi no Mai (Dance of the Willow)  
Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-5 metres  
The Dance of the Willow is unlike both the Dance of the Clematis and the Dance of the Camellia. Instead of removing his bones from his body, Naruto turns them into long blades that extend out past his palms. Similar blades can, with a little practice, protrude from the elbows and knees, as well. Unlike the Dance of the Camellia, this technique forms the basis of all Taijutsu techniques used by a bearer of the Shikotsumyaku. This is my personal favourite. I recon it just looks amazing when Kimimaro uses it. If Lee weren't a freakin' speed nut, he'd probably be dead (although I do believe he was drunk at the time, so that might have something to do with it)_

**Well, that's a wrap. For the record, before anyone says anything about Naruto being overpowered, here are the Jutsu he can perform with a 100% chance of success **_**and**_** no harmful drawbacks:  
Kage Bunshin, Henge, Yanagi no May, Karamatsu no Mai, Tsubaki no Mai, Teshi Sendan, Shunpo, and Kawarimi.  
He has by no means mastered anything. In fact, he cannot even consciously use the Tessenka no Mai anymore (nor would he want to, for now). For Naruto, it's literally been one step forward, two steps back…  
Heh, even poor little Kyuubi has no idea what the hell the disease in Naruto is. I almost feel sorry for the poor bugger.  
… ****Almost.  
… ****Honestly, I didn't like writing the council scene. It seems… a little stiff… I've always imagined that Hiruzen would simply tell off the council the instant they object to his will, but in the Manga, it seems to be nothing like that. I'm not sure… I think I'll redo it at a later date, when I actually know what a council meeting should look like. Any ideas?  
On the other hand, I really liked the scenes between Naruto and Hinata. Honestly, writing a shy Hinata's pretty damn difficult, so I decided to try for a meeker one. Mind you, the last paragraph serves only one purpose; to show off what Naruto spent the last three weeks learning.  
You know, it's also occurred to me that people might think I'm positioning Naruto to be cured after fighting Kimimaro and bringing Tsunade to Konoha. Here's a question that I have to ask you, though.  
Is the disease curable? Did I ever say it was?  
I'll leave you to stew over that…  
Now that I look back, as I start chapter 5, it occurs to me that, despite being at similar stages of the disease, Kimimaro and Naruto are capable of different levels of exercise. If nothing else, attribute this to the Kyuubi. The poor bastard is trying everything in his power to stop the disease, but simply has no idea what he's doing. Beyond prolonging Naruto's life, he really can't do anything. Unlike Naruto, Kimimaro really can't do anything without needing rather extensive treatment afterwards.**


	4. The Lament of the Chidori

**You know you've been playing too much Ninja STORM when your chapter titles start to sound similar… oh well, to hell with it. Despite them being long winded, some of those titles were rather amusing…  
Actually, it's also occurred to me that Naruto was warned about the invasion, but hasn't told anyone. Whoops… okay, lets just say he forgot.**

_Lesson on Ninjutsu: Making a Jutsu your own  
Naruto: Okay, so we know what makes up a Jutsu. Now can't we turn it to our own purposes?  
Kakashi: Naruto, it's not that simple. If it were, don't you think everyone would do it?  
Sakura: Uhhh… Kakashi-sensei, how do we make our own Jutsu?  
Kakashi: Hmmm… well, it's not that easy. Every Jutsu uses a certain seal order to tell the body how it needs to manipulate the chakra. Even changing just one of these seals can be very dangerous. For example, Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu uses the hand seals of the snake, tiger, monkey, boar, horse and tiger again to mould the users chakra. However, if we change the original snake sign to the bird, and add rat, monkey, ox, ram and tiger to the end, we have Uchiha Itachi's improved answer to the Goukakyu, Katon, Goenkyu no Jutsu. On the same note, if we were only to change the snake to the bird, and not add on the rest of the hand signs to the technique, it would simply blow up in our faces.  
Naruto: Okay… I won't experiment.  
Kakashi: Oh, I don't mean to discourage you. It's actually fairly simple. If you are making a Katon Jutsu, never have the bird sign before the tiger unless you also finish with ox, ram, and tiger to balance the Jutsu.  
Naruto: …  
Sakura: Is there a manual for this?  
Kakashi: Ano… to be unappreciated by my own students…  


* * *

Chapter 4,  
The Chunin Exams Begin! The Lament of the Chidori!_

Naruto couldn't help but fidget as he took his place in the Chunin finals ring, his fellow finalists standing around near him. Glancing around, he felt a small ball of irritation grow in his stomach, as he realised that there was a distinct lack of black, duck butt hair.  
'Where is Sasuke?' He wondered, turning his eyes to the stands. He scanned through the faces, his eyes occasionally resting on the face of someone he knew, like Iruka and Hiruzen, Ayame and old man Ichiraku, even once landing on Hinata as she made her way through the crowd. He was brought back to the arena, however, when a puff of smoke and a whirl of leaves announced the arrival of the proctor. He was rather tall, with brown hair and a black bandana over his head, which Naruto suspected was his Hitae Ate. Regardless, he was also drawn to the fact that he had a senbon in his mouth.  
"Welcome to the final exam." He started. "I'm Shiranui Genma, your final proctor."  
"Ano…" Naruto started, but was cut off by Shikamaru, whom looked half asleep.  
"What happened to the other proctor?" He asked with a yawn. Genma rolled his eyes.  
"He met an… accident…" Genma deadpanned. "Alright, there have been some revisions to the line up of the Chunin exam. Uzumaki would already be aware of this, by he has been granted a by until the last round. In the first round, Nara Shikamaru will battle Sabaku no Temari, followed by Aburame Shino verses Sabaku no Kankurou, and Uchiha Sasuke verses Sabaku no Gaara. The winner of match one will face Hyuuga Neji, while the winners of match two and three will face each other. The winners of those two matches will then face each other before the winner of the last match faces Uzumaki Naruto. Any questions?" Shikamaru muttered something about the exam being troublesome, while Gaara spoke the question on everyone else's minds.  
"Where is the Uchiha?" He growled. Genma shrugged.  
"Knowing his sensei, he could be anywhere." He replied, not really caring. "If he isn't here by the time his match starts, he will be disqualified. It's just that simple." Gaara looked murderous at the mere thought that Sasuke might not turn up, mirroring Naruto's own displeasure, albeit to a much higher degree.  
"Well, when do we start, then?" Neji asked. Genma chuckled, glancing to the sky.  
"Hehehe… today, you guys are the stars." He mused. "Nara Shikamaru, Sabaku no Temari, stay here. The rest of you, there is a box for your use over there." Genma pointed in the general direction of the finalist box. "Now, shoo." The rest of the finalists obeyed, leaving Shikamaru and Temari alone in the arena. Shikamaru sighed as he rolled his shoulder.  
"What a drag." He groaned. "Is there any chance I can just give up?" The proctor just gave him a small glare in reply.  
"Do you have a debilitating injury?" Genma asked. "Will you certainly lose due to conflicting fighting styles and simply not want to risk the pain?" Shikamaru groaned.  
"Fine, fine, I get it. Troublesome." He replied. Genma sighed.  
"Ready? 3, 2, 1, Hajime!" He cried, leaping out of the way as the two Genin spun into fighting stances, Temari's fan off her back in an instant.  
"Your going down!" She cried. Shikamaru frowned.  
"Great. A women more troublesome then mom. What a drag."

Naruto winced as he sat down in his seat, grateful to finally be off his feet. He could feel his blood start to calm down, as the strain of his earlier training began to fade away. Glancing at the battlefield, he couldn't help but snicker as Shikamaru leapt around like a frog, desperately avoiding jet after jet of wind that threatened to send him flying.  
"You find his predicament amusing." Gaara spoke up from his seat. Naruto shrugged.  
"Shikamaru has always been lazy." Naruto replied. "Actually, I think this is the most I've ever seen him move at one time." Down in the arena, Shikamaru had finally stopped running, taking cover behind a tree as Temari stopped for a quick breather. Naruto could almost hear the gears churning in Shikamaru's head, as his hand touched his chin, the traditional Nara thinking pose. Naruto almost whistled.  
Almost.  
"Temari will lose." Gaara stated. Naruto glanced at him.  
"Ano… why?" He asked. Gaara shrugged.  
"Mother said she would. I imagine your friend has come up with a plan." Sure enough, Shikamaru had taken his hand away from his chin, drawing two kunai and attaching a roll of ninja wire to them. Naruto's eyes narrowed, as Shikamaru hurled the two kunai into the air, the two kunai striking two different trees.  
"Why didn't he aim at Temari?" Naruto whispered, before his eyes suddenly widened. "Of course!"  
"Kagemane no Jutsu, success." Shikamaru stated monotonously, as Temari's body snapped into position to mirror his own. "Really, you should pay more attention, you troublesome women."  
"How?" Temari sneered. "You're shadow needs to be connecting to mine to…"  
"Look down, onna. It is connected to your shadow." Shikamaru interrupted, walking towards her. Temari mirrored the action, until they were beside each other. Shikamaru reached up his shirt, removing a kunai that simply wasn't there for Temari to grab, and holding the mentioned weapon to her throat. Temari mimicked the action, her fan snapped shut and beside Shikamaru's neck.  
"Give up." Shikamaru growled. "I have no qualms with killing you." Temari was shocked at the harsh tone his voice took on.  
"W-W-What?" She stuttered. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.  
"Killing you won't heal Lee. It won't help Tenten, but it sure as hell will make me feel better." Shikamaru growled. "You Suna-nin want to mess with us, fine. But prepare for our retaliation." Temari blinked.  
"Proctor, I surrender." She called. Shikamaru released his Jutsu, turning and walking towards the box, even as he was announced the winner.  
"Troublesome." Shikamaru growled. "Very troublesome. Lee, Tenten, I hope you are somewhat appeased. Now all we need to do is defeat Gaara." Genma frowned as Shikamaru walked past, but said nothing.  
"Aburame Shino, Sabaku no Kankurou, please enter the arena now!" He cried.

"Yo, Shino." Naruto called, as the bug-nin prepared to enter the arena. "Stay focused. This exams about to get rough."  
"I understand, Uzumaki-san." Shino replied. Naruto shook his head.  
"This match and the next are your only chances, Shino." Naruto stated. "You've got too many opponent's to make it to the end." Shino froze, turning to regard Naruto through his sunglasses.  
"You underestimate me, Uzumaki." He retorted. Naruto shook his head.  
"You're overestimating yourself, Shino." He replied. Shino ignored him, vanishing. Naruto couldn't help but feel as if that would be the last time the two would ever talk.

"Ano, sorry I'm late." Hinata whispered, as she took her seat amongst the Genin of Konoha, sitting next to her sensei. Kiba glanced at her, grinning slightly.  
"Where were you, Hinata?" He asked eagerly, almost too eagerly in her opinion. She didn't need the Byakugan to tell he had some form of crush on her. More and more lately, she had found herself in between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, there was her crush, which had finally acknowledged her existence over the last month. On the other, there was the boy that she knew lusted after her. It was almost a lose-lose situation.  
"My family has a private box." Hinata answered. "Otou-sama wanted to watch the first match with me." Kiba seemed to accept the answer, to Hinata's relief.  
She didn't exactly want to tell him that she had been with Naruto most of the morning, and had only arrived five minutes before the match. Kiba would probably try to kill Naruto if she did.  
"Shikamaru was scary." Ino whispered, still shivering at the sight of the completely serious Nara as he threatened to murder his opponent. "I've never seen him like that." Asuma sighed from his seat in the row behind them.  
"The honour of the Konoha Shinobi was challenged in the Preliminaries, Ino." He explained. "Suna didn't just defeat two of our ninja, they brutally crushed them. Any Genin in the finals is probably keenly aware of just how dangerous Suna is to their continued presence in the finals."  
"Not only that, but I believe Shikamaru-san is neighbours with Tenten." Kurenai added. "He would have felt her hospitalisation keenly, having been used to seeing her around."  
"What about Neji?" Sakura asked. Hinata shook her head.  
"Neji-niisan wouldn't care about Tenten-san or Lee-san being defeated." She explained softly. "He is a cold person. He doesn't care about anyone but himself."  
"Hmph. Bastard deserves to rot." Kiba quipped, rubbing Akamaru's head, as the next match began.

"Alright, Aburame Shino and Sabaku no Kankurou. Ready?" Genma asked. Getting curt nods, he sighed. "Alright, 3, 2, 1, Hajime!" With that, Genma leapt out of the way, wary of the two ninja. Shino didn't move an inch, stoically standing in place, while Kankurou sneered at him.  
"What's wrong, bug boy?" He asked cheekily. "Not moving 'cause you're scared?"  
"No matter how small a bug you are, I can't underestimate you." Shino replied bluntly, raising a hand to shoulder height as a swarm of bugs flew out, charging at Kankurou. Right before they struck, Kankurou snickered.  
A fuuma shuriken suddenly ripped through Shino's body, sending blood and innards across the floor. His body collapsed, motionless, as Kankurou vanished out of sight.  
The arena was still and very empty.

"Shino!" Kiba screamed, as his team mate was killed before his eyes. Hinata flinched, before forming a hand seal.  
"Byakugan!" She cried, searching the arena with her enhanced eyes. She let out a relieved sigh as she located her team mate, hiding within the branches of a tree. "Ano, Shino-kun is alive, Kiba-kun."  
"Thank god." Kiba said with obvious relief. Akamaru gave a relieved bark as well.  
"Shino has the upper hand in this fight." Kurenai muttered. "Puppeteers rely on chakra strings to control their puppets. Shino's bugs eat chakra."  
"I don't think it will be that clear cut." A lazy voice cut in, causing the whole group to stare at the masked Jounin sitting beside Hinata on the stairs, his single eye buried in a certain orange covered book.  
"Kakashi!" Gai cried, his voice heard for the first time. "Where have you been, my eternal rival!"  
"Around." Kakashi replied, snapping the book shut. "Shino may not make it to the next round."  
"Ano…" Hinata started, but Kakashi answered her question before it was asked.  
"The Suna-nin is yet to draw a puppet." He stated. "That implies that he spent his month learning other ninja skills. He knew there was the possibility of facing Shino, so he prepared."

"Here, bug boy." Kankurou's voice rang out in all directions. "I know you're here somewhere. Come out, come out wherever you are." The arena was still silent, as Shino's 'dead' body slowly faded away, transforming into a swarm of insects that buzzed angrily as they swarmed around the arena, searching for they're pray. Hidden within the branches of the tree, Shino's mind was churning as he struggled to form a coherent strategy that wouldn't end in him being killed.  
'I need to lure him out of hiding.' Shino thought. 'But how?' He froze as something touched his shoulder, glancing at the object out of the corner of his eye.  
It was the puppet, Karasu. Shino felt fear shoot through his being, but he ignored it as he reached out with his chakra, finding the bugs scattered around the arena just as he was pierced by an array of senbon. His body tumbled lifelessly out of the tree, landing on the ground with a dull thump.  
It, too, burst into bugs, as the insects converged on the tree. As suddenly as he'd come, however, Karasu was gone. Standing on the rim of the ring, Shino frowned as he watched the tree, his body unmoving as his brain went at a thousand miles a minute. His eyes widened, as he realized far too late what Kankurou's plan was, his eyes finding several small bombs planted around the tree. Suddenly, they exploded, spewing oil into the air, even as a large fireball collided with the tree from the other side of the arena. Shino's Kikai bugs stood no chance, as the firetrap exploded, completely scorching almost four fifths of the arena. Shino remained stoic, even as sorrow filled him. He felt every last one of those insects die. He barely had a eighth of his colony left.  
Across the arena, Kankurou smirked, as he unsealed his puppet, Karasu, from a storage scroll.  
"Well, little bug, it's time for me to squish you." He called. Shino didn't move, even as his anger exploded. This boy was going to pay for killing his colony. Without a word, Shino grabbed a kunai from his pouch, a grim line etched into his face. It was time to win the old fashioned way. His remaining colony buzzed angrily, as Shino focused his chakra into his very being, calling upon the remnants of his bugs to overwhelm the lock on the Kaimon within his body. Suddenly, it burst open, filling him with energy. He knew he didn't have much time, now. Hopefully the next two matches lasted long enough for him to get over the sudden loss of energy he would feel later.  
"It seems I underestimated you." Shino growled. "It won't happen again." Kankurou frowned, obviously feeling the overwhelming killer intent Shino was unleashing. Shino suddenly flickered out of sight. Kankurou shot to the side, Karasu flinging itself in front of him as Shino slammed his kunai where Kankurou's neck had been, splintering Karasu's throat. Shino flickered out of sight again, but Kankurou was ready this time, Karasu moving again. This time, the puppet snatched Shino out of the air, two hands holding him by the throat as a third hand sprouted a spike. Shino shifted slightly, narrowly avoiding the spike impaling his head. His glasses, unfortunately, were knocked away, revealing his deep black eyes. Shino let out a short growl, as his temper snapped like a twig. Konoha was in for a treat.  
A member of the supposedly unflappable Aburame clan had snapped.  
"I'll kill you." Shino growled softly. "I'll kill you." The second time was much louder, more of a statement of a past fact then a promise. Kankurou blinked out of reflex, thus, completely missing what happened next. All he knew, was that Shino had completely demolished Karasu in the time it had taken him to blink, leaving the puppet a pile of splinters on the ground. Shino was breathing heavily, as he took two steps forward, deliberately, and slowly.  
"Not bad, bug boy." Kankurou muttered, closing his eyes. "Karasu was old, anyway. Proctor, I…" He trailed off, as Shino's fist suddenly collided with his gut, spit and blood flying from his mouth.  
"Shut up." Shino growled. "I said I would kill you. The dead don't talk." Shino suddenly punched him six more times, twice in the guts, once in the kidney, once in the ribs, once in the chest, and finally once in the chin, sending him flying into the centre of the ring. Shino flickered out of existence again, lifting Kankurou of the ground with one hand around his throat. He raised a kunai…  
"That's enough. You've won." Genma muttered softly. Shino glared at him, before hurling Kankurou bodily across the arena, ignoring the boy's pathetic cry as he landed in a crumpled heap. Without a word, he left the arena.  
"Well… Aburame Shino wins." Genma declared. "Would Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke please enter the arena." There was a whirl of sand, as Gaara appeared with his arms crossed. Sasuke, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight.

"You know, you shouldn't keep him waiting." Naruto whispered, knowing Sasuke was sitting on the floor right behind his chair, right where no one could see him. He wasn't sure why the Uchiha heir was sitting there, though.  
"Naruto… are you afraid of dying?" Sasuke asked. Naruto felt a pang in his heart as a realization suddenly hit him. This fight, more so then any other, was the most likely to end with death.  
"Sasuke, you know I'm afraid of dying." Naruto replied. "I've only got a few years left, and that's if I don't get killed prematurely."  
"… Naruto, if I die, look after everyone." Sasuke muttered, standing up. "Promise me."  
"I promise, Sasuke. But now, you have to promise me something." Naruto replied, turning to look into his team mates cobalt eyes. "Promise me you won't die."  
"I promise, Naruto." Sasuke whispered, forming a hand sign. Suddenly, he was gone in a puff of smoke. 'I don't know if I can keep that promise, though.'

"I'm here." Sasuke stated, as he appeared in a whirl of leaves. "I'm ready." Sasuke's hand clenched, as the Sharingan whirled to life in his eyes. Genma nodded, leaping back as Gaara's gourd exploded, sand wrapping around his form. Sasuke slowly switched to a Taijutsu stance, as his nerves exploded. Gaara's face twisted into a sadistic smile as Sasuke did so.  
"Don't die too fast now." Gaara sneered. "Mother wants you to bleed!"  
"3, 2, 1, HAJIME!" Genma screamed, as he outright fled the battlefield, his survival instincts screaming at him to get as far away as possible. The instant the words left his lips, the battle roared to life, as Sasuke shot forward, narrowly dodging dozens of sand shuriken as he charged. Gaara snickered as he gestured with his arm, a giant claw forming out of his sand and lunging for Sasuke, who leapt to the side, forming several hand signs, before holding his fingers to his mouth.  
"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" Sasuke screamed, launching a barrage of five fireballs at Gaara, who simply snickered, vanishing in a whirl of sand. Sasuke swore, leaping to the side as another barrage of sand shuriken flew by.  
"Your weak, Uchiha Sasuke!" Gaara screamed, forming a hand sign. "Sabaku Kyuu!" Sasuke leapt sideways as the sand lunged at him, barely dodging what he knew would have been a fatal combination. Grabbing the fuuma shuriken hidden in his left gauntlet, Sasuke expertly unfolded it and hurled it at Gaara. Gaara didn't budge an inch, as the sand caught the shuriken and crushed it mercilessly. Sasuke swore aloud once more, pulling out a pair of chakra pills. It was time to unleash the big guns.

"Ano, Kakashi-sensei, aren't they chakra pills?" Hinata asked softly, as Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed.  
"Hai. Unfortunately, Sasuke won't be able to fight after this battle." He replied. "On the up side, Gaara should be at least incapacitated after the battle, if not dead." Kiba growled a little at that.  
"How is that an up side, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked before Ino could speak.  
"If Gaara makes it to Naruto, everything will go straight to hell." Kakashi replied. "Naruto can only fight for thirty minutes at a time. There's no guarantee that he can take Gaara down that fast. That sand armour is a problem."  
"Indeed." Kurenai whispered. "This might not end well."

"Katon, Karyu Endan!" Sasuke screamed, using the copying power of his Sharingan to its full effect. The Uchiha took in a deep breath, unleashing a blast of fire upon the entirety of the arena, smothering it in flame. He let out a moan as, technique completed, he fell to his knees, feeling the extra chakra leave him, putting him back where he started, albeit exhausted. He could still feel Gaara's killer intent, though. The battle wasn't over. Steeling himself, Sasuke leaped into the burning arena, coming face to face with Gaara again.  
"Impressive, weakling." Gaara growled, a look of pure irritation on his face. Sasuke smirked at that.  
"Only impressive?" He asked tauntingly. "Let's get on with this, Gaara." With that, he sped forward, his fist slamming against the barrier of sand. With a flicker, Sasuke was behind Gaara, his shin aimed at the boy's head. Gaara barely shifted at all, just enough to glare at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, as the sand barrier caught Sasuke's shin.  
"Your too weak." Gaara stated bluntly, the sand flinging Sasuke away. Sasuke snickered a little as he landed on the ground, his feet skidding along as he formed hand signs.  
"Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke cried, sending the fireball at Gaara, who flickered away again, appearing right behind Sasuke in a second.  
"It's over." Gaara whispered, as sand pounced on Sasuke, curling into a ball around him and lifting the cocoon into the sky. Raising his hand, Gaara clenched his fist. "Sabaku Soso!"  
As far as the red head was concerned, Sasuke was crushed in the imploding cocoon. Taking several steps towards the edge of the arena as the flames died down, Gaara stopped as the sound of chirping birds reached his ears.

Sasuke let out a heavy breath of relief as he successfully replaced himself with a large pile of ash. He had no more time, he had to win now.  
"Monkey, dragon, rat…" Sasuke rattled off, forming the hand signs as he went. "…bird, ox, snake, dog, tiger, monkey." He braced his right hand against the ground, as the flames around the arena began to clear. Sasuke pumped chakra into his hand, a small smile lighting his face as it began to glow blue, as the sound of a bird chirping reached his ears like a brilliant rhapsody. The chakra around his hand began to flicker, as lightning began to shoot around him, the sound of birds chirping roaring out to the world. Sasuke knew Gaara had to have noticed by now.  
'3, 2, 1… NOW!' Sasuke thought, as the lightning weapon completed itself. Without a word, he shot off like a bullet.

"Kakashi, how could you?" Gai exploded. "You… you…" Beside him, Kakashi swore.  
"It's too early, Sasuke! Damn it. He'll be killed!" Kakashi, however, was powerless to stop the fight, his orange book falling to the ground. Gai frowned, as he saw the sad look in Kakashi's eye.  
"You have no faith in your student?" He asked. "My rival…"  
"Gaara is a Jinchuuriki." Kakashi replied bluntly, shutting Gai right up. The Genin were left wondering what had just happened, as everything clearly went to hell.

Sasuke spared nothing as he pumped chakra into his legs, moving as fast as possible. He had to get Gaara before he used the Suna Shunpo or his sand shield again. Across the arena, Gaara had only just caught sight of the black blur flying at him, lightning in hand. Gaara blinked in surprise. For those who wondered just how much of an impact that blink had, allow me to explain.  
In the time Gaara blinked, Sasuke crossed half of the arena. The sand shield barely had time to flicker as Sasuke plunged the lightning ball towards Gaara's chest, impaling him.  
"CHIDORI!" Sasuke screamed, as a blast of lightning shot from Gaara's back, the boy certainly dead. Sasuke let out a heavy sigh in relief taking a step back.  
"Sabaku Kyuu!" Gaara roared, as his sand clone crumpled under the mortal wound that had been Chidori. Sasuke couldn't move, as he was cocooned in sand again, once more lifted into midair. Gaara snarled, as rage entered his eyes.  
"Just die, Uchiha!" He screamed. "Sabaku Soso!" The sand compressed, but no blood emerged. Gaara's eyes flickered wide open, as he realized what was about to happen.

"Sasuke." Naruto whispered. "Be careful. You're taking the forbidden fruit…"

Sasuke could feel it, the overwhelming power his seal offered. Having no other options for his continued existence, he dived into the seal's power. Suddenly, he exploded with purple chakra, black markings crawling up the side of his face, as he landed on the ground, power overwhelming him. He needed to win in a single blow. Bracing his hand against the ground, he could feel the purple-grey lightning flicker to life in his hand, the sound of flapping birds roaring in his ears. Without a word, he shot forward, as the sand barrier flew in front of Gaara. With a scream, he plunged his hand straight through.  
"Chidori LAMENT!" Sasuke screamed, as the lightning suddenly condensed. Before anyone knew what was happening, it had exploded, a lightning field shocking the area the pair had been standing in before everything flashed white. Everyone heard Gaara's scream of pain.  
When the light cleared, Gaara was still standing, sand whirling around him angrily. Sasuke, on the over hand, was halfway across the arena in a crumpled heap, unmoving. Gaara raised his hand, the sand preparing to pounce, when Genma appeared beside Sasuke's side, checking for a pulse.  
"The match is over." He called. "Sabaku no Gaara is the winner." With that, he made a quick motion with his hands, as medics poured onto the arena. Gaara frowned, vanishing in a whirl of sand.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino and Sakura cried as one, as Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.  
"Thank god." He whispered. "He's not dead." Sakura suddenly rounded on him.  
"If Sasuke-kun can't win, how the hell will Naruto?" She screamed. Kakashi glared at her.  
"Gaara won't make it that far. He's exhausted." Kakashi replied. 'I hope.' He added in his mind. He knew Naruto was much stronger, thanks to Hinata's reports, but he didn't know how strong.  
It looked like he might have to find out, if everything went south. That was far from good.  


* * *

Jutsu Glossary

_Katon, Karyu Endan (Fire Style, Fire Dragon Flame Missile)  
B-rank Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres  
The user unleashes a stream of fire, much like a flamethrower, at his target. The more chakra used, the longer lasting and hotter the flames. Sasuke copied this from Kakashi._

_Chidori (1000 Birds)  
A-rank Ninjutsu, 0-5+ metres  
A Jutsu that harnesses lightning chakra into a small ball in the users palm. The user must run in a straight line to gain momentum, and then plunge the lightning ball into his target. Damage from this Jutsu is ridiculously high, even if it only grazes the target, making it a highly feared Jutsu. With sufficient skill (or the right hand signs), the user can cause the lightning ball to explode in his targets body, dealing more damage._

_Chidori LAMENT (Properly called Habataku Chidori, meaning Flapping 1000 Birds)  
Un-rank-able Ninjutsu, 0-5+ metres  
A Cursed Seal enhanced Chidori. Unlike the normal Chidori, the Chidori LAMENT is created with Sasuke's fear and hatred, magnified by the Cursed Seal of Heaven. As such, it requires no hand signs. Even the slightest graze will trap the target in a lightning field that will promptly electrocute the target before destabilizing and exploding. Unless Sasuke is in his Cursed Seal form, he cannot withstand the techniques explosion and is damaged as well. Unlike most other Jutsu, Chidori LAMENT cannot be dodged with Kawarimi, due to the massive distortion of chakra in the air.  
**A Jutsu that doesn't see enough love… wait, it got love in the first place? Outside of video games, its been seen once. Yes, I'm aware Sasuke never uses it in his normal form, but I find this move to cool not to use (which is amusing, cause I don't really like Sasuke in the first place. He's just a convenient plot element... till he grows up, where he became somewhat cool till his character was killed again). I think this may possibly be the only Jutsu in all of Naruto that I prefer the English name to the Japanese one.**_

_Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)  
Unranked Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres  
The users shadow extends, allowing the user to control anyone whose shadow comes into contact with the users. Unique to the Nara clan._

_Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu (Bug Clone Technique)  
Un-ranked Ninjutsu  
Creates a bug clone of the user. Often used with the Kawarimi to avoid damage. Unique to the Aburame, for rather obvious reasons, seeing as no one else keeps bugs around in sufficient quantities for this._

_Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)  
E-rank Ninjutsu  
Allows the user to replace his body with that of a nearby object. Whilst the easiest thing to replace with is an inanimate, solid object, it is possible to replace with other objects, such as Bug clones, ashes, even water, if one is skilled enough._

_Suna Bunshin no Jutsu (Sand Doppelganger Technique)  
Unknown  
Using his power over sand, Gaara can create a full sized replica of himself made with sand. This Jutsu is most commonly used in conjunction with Kawarimi, to avoid unpreventable damage (such as a Chidori). This Jutsu is ineffective against Chidori LAMENT, as the lightning field created by the Jutsu disrupts Gaara's chakra control._

_Suna Shunpo (Sand Flash Steps)  
C-rank Chakra Control/Ninjutsu hybrid, 0-5 metres  
Little more then a sand variant of Shunpo, leaving behind sand rather then simply flickering out of existence. The difference is purely aesthetic._

_Sabaku Kyuu (Sand Binding Coffin)  
Unknown  
Using his power to control sand, Gaara wraps his opponent in a cocoon of sand in preparation for the next Jutsu on the list._

_Sabaku Soso (Sand Waterfall Funeral)  
Unknown  
Gaara causes a target trapped in Sabaku Kyuu to be crushed as the cocoon implodes._

_Byakugan (White Eye, often mistranslated as Evil Eye)  
Kekkai Genkai (Hyuuga), Doujutsu  
The veins around the users eyes bulge, to facilitate the sudden rush of chakra to the users eyes. The user gains the ability to see 359 degrees and see the chakra systems of others, in addition to having telescopic vision, should they focus enough._

… **Holy mother of…  
Well, Shino's half dead, Sasuke possibly is dead, Kankurou's almost dead, Temari's freaked out… and the fun has only just begun! Hopefully you combat junkies were entertained by the insane amount of combat in this chapter. I mean, come on, its three quarters combat.  
Oh, an interesting little bit of trivia for you, too. Apparently, Sabaku means both desert and sand waterfall. The Jutsu Gaara uses are meant to be taken as Sand Waterfall, though.  
The next updates might take a little longer then they have been. Schools about to start up again, and the next chapters being a b**** to write out. I might end up making it a bit longer then normal.  
Anyway, read, review, and so forth. Till next time…**


	5. The Day Konoha Stood Still

_Lesson on Chakra: The Eight Gates…_

_Naruto: I don't get it. Shino can use the eight gates like fuzzy brows?_

_Kimimaro: No, he can't, Naruto._

_Naruto: But…_

_Kimimaro: Quiet down and I'll tell you why. The eight gates aren't like Tenketsu. Anyone whose eyes are sensitive to chakra can at least locate them. Their actual places in the human body, where the organs and chakra meet._

_Naruto: Ano… so Shino's bugs nibbled at his brain?_

_Kimimaro: … Not quite. You see, only a ninja even has the gates. They don't turn up in civilians because the chakra coils didn't develop. I suppose… the closest one can liken them to is a small bundle of nerves. Mind you, I'm no doctor._

_Naruto: And by breaking the lock…_

_Kimimaro: Shino forced the Kaimon to open. However, since he didn't open it properly, it sealed itself shut again over a period of time._

_Naruto: Poor guy._

* * *

Chapter 5,

The Day Konoha stood still! Gaara's Rage Explodes!  
-

"Out of my way!" Naruto screamed, running through the halls of the makeshift medical facility attached to the Chunin Exam grounds. Doctors and nurses, ninja and civilian alike, jumped out of the boy's way, as he ran towards the room that contained patient S-98231. Finding room 24, he collapsed into an adjoining chair, eyeing the neon sign above the door saying 'operating'.

'Don't die, Sasuke.' He prayed, burying his face in his hands as he waited. 'You promised me you wouldn't die!' Naruto didn't hear Sakura and Kakashi arrive, nor did he really notice them sit down beside him, team 7 waiting collectively for the news about their comrade. Naruto could only hope it wasn't a long wait, his heart twinging painfully every time he heard a bell chime, only to find the red sign still saying 'operating'.

'Don't you dare die on us, Sasuke. You promised! You promised...' Naruto's thoughts only repeated themselves, 'you promised' ringing through his mind as he waited. He didn't want anyone else to break a promise to him, not when so many had done so before.

-

"This is not good." Gai whispered softly to himself, as he watched the crowd chatter animatedly. "Konoha's Flames of Youth may not survive this." Kurenai nodded her agreement, while Asuma didn't even move. Kiba cocked his head to the side, staring at the three Jounin.

"I know Sasuke losing is a blow to Konoha's pride and all…" He started. "But I don't get why it's so bad."

"You wouldn't understand, Kiba." Asuma replied. "But for the Konoha-nin in the finals box, that was a crushing blow. Now all of our hopes for defeating Gaara fall to three ninja. If he wins, it will prove once and for all that Suna has the most powerful ninja. He's crushed one of the most illustrious clans we have, bloodline or not."

"He won't make it." Ino scoffed. "Sasuke-kun almost killed him with the Chidori!" The kunoichi seemed almost to swoon at the mention of Sasuke's trump card. On the other hand, Asuma's gaze just hardened.

"Almost doesn't cut it in the ninja world." Asuma scolded. "That almost was the difference between Sasuke's Chidori killing him. That almost was the difference between Sasuke's survival and death. Chidori is an assassination Justu made for one hit kills. Missing means almost certain death." Beside Kurenai, Hinata frowned, looking at her feet.

'Good luck, Naruto-kun.' She thought, as the next match began. Glancing at her teacher, she smiled softly. "Ano, Kurenai-sensei, I need to return to my family."

"Go on, Hinata." Kurenai replied softly, saying nothing more as she watched Hinata scurry off, her once nervous steps now with purpose. 'Naruto is good for her. I wonder if she was good for him as well?'

-

"Would Nara Shikamaru and Hyuuga Neji please enter the arena?" Genma called, watching the two appear in blurs of motion. Shikamaru's mouth was grimly set line, while Neji had a superior smirk on his face.

"You should surrender, Nara." Neji growled out. "Destiny has stated that I will win." Shikamaru cocked his head to the side, not deigning the Hyuuga with an answer.

'I have two kunai, an explosive tag, no ninja wire, and a little more then a third of my chakra.' Shikamaru thought, his mind analysing the situation. 'I can't win, but if I can weaken Neji enough, I can give Naruto a clean win in the finals, a proper chance to show off.' Genma glanced from ninja to ninja, his eyes set.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Both nodded shortly. "Good. 3, 2, 1, Hajime!" With that, Genma leapt back, signifying the beginning of the fight. Neji wasted no time as he formed a hand sign.

"Byakugan!" He cried, before lunging towards Shikamaru. The Nara steeled himself, as Neji came in for close quarters combat.

'This match won't end well for me.' He determined, ducking under a swift finger strike to his shoulder as he swept his leg low, forcing Neji to jump. 'Perfect.' Shikamaru decided, retrieving a kunai from his pouch and slashing straight up. Unfortunately, Neji Shunpo'd out of the way, appearing directly behind the Nara.

"You have no chance!" Neji cried. "Hakkeshou, Sanjyuuni Shou!" With a cry, he delivered two finger strikes to the Nara's shoulders. "Two palms!" Spinning around, Neji added another four strikes to the Nara's elbows and his shoulder blades. "Four Palms!" He spun again, this time kicking the Nara's legs out from under him as he did so, causing the boy to spin in midair, finally able to see his attacker. Shikamaru's eyes were frantic, as he tried to summon the chakra for a Kawarimi. Neji spared no mercy, delivering eight strikes to the Nara's ribs. "Eight Palms!" Spinning again, Neji delivered sixteen strikes all over Shikamaru's body. "Sixteen Palms!" Suddenly, Neji vanished, as Shikamaru's body got hammered back and forth through the air by an invisible opponent, before Neji finally appeared right in front of him, spinning full circle, chakra clearly visible around his hands, as his palms slammed into Shikamaru's stomach. "Thirty-two Palms!" Left with nowhere else to go, Shikamaru went flying, landing in a small heap across the arena. Neji smiled smugly, his hands on his hips.

"Proctor, call the match. He won't be getting up." Neji stated, his self-thought superiority there for everyone to see.

-

Hinata couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Shikamaru, the guy who had a plan for just about every situation, had more or less gone down without a fight after being struck by the thirty-two palms. Glancing to her father beside her, she discovered a scowl on Hiashi's face.

"His form… is unbelievable. Definitely the best of his generation." He commented. "His attitude, on the other hand, is deplorable. He should be ensuring his victory, not gloating like some... ruffian!" Hinata glanced at her little sister, Hanabi, who had a scowl on her face, mimicking her father.

"Ano, Neechan…" Hanabi spoke up. "Is Neji going to lose?" Hinata nodded, slightly dumbfound.

"I think so, Hanabi-chan." She replied. Hanabi's scowl turned into a dastardly little grin.

"Good. Neji thinks he's hot stuff." Hanabi replied. "He must have forgotten who beat him in sparring last week." Hinata almost giggled at that. Almost.

-

Shikamaru was beyond pain. His whole body burned like fire, but he wasn't quite ready to give up. Even if it put him in hospital, he was going to do as much to help his fellow Genin as possible. If that meant sacrificing Neji's chance at advancement for Naruto's, then so be it. Shikamaru forced himself onto his stomach, his uncooperative arms pushing weakly against the ground in order to allow the Nara to stand up. It was almost worth the pain to see Neji's shocked expression at the fact that Shikamaru was moving again. With a grunt, Shikamaru was standing again, a small sliver of blood dribbling down his chin. The small band that usually kept his hair in a small pineapple had been broken, allowing his hair to run almost midway down his back.

"The battle…" Shikamaru grunted. "Is never over…" He channelled his last third of his chakra through his body, using his rage to force his chakra through the closed Tenketsu, blowing them open painfully. "Until your opponent is dead!" With a roar, Shikamaru Shunpo'd out of sight, reappearing behind Neji and slamming his elbow into Neji's back. Ignoring Neji's surprised cry of pain, Shikamaru smashed his fist into the Hyuuga's kidney, before delivering a painful axe kick that last him sprawled on the ground. Neji quickly sprung away, glaring at Shikamaru with as much killer intent as he could muster.

"That's it…" Neji growled. "Your dead!" With a cry, he lunged forward, striking the Tenketsu directly over Shikamaru's heart before he could even react. Shikamaru went down like a sack of potatoes. Neji raised his palm to deal the killing blow, but was stopped from striking by Genma.

"That's enough." Genma growled. "You've already won. Now get out of my sight." Neji gave an arrogant grunt in reply, before walking away towards the finalist's box, as Genma made the announcement. "Hyuuga Neji wins."

-

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat as a bell sounded, the neon red sign fading, signifying Sasuke was out of surgery. Team 7 leapt to their feet as one, as a young nurse walked out of the room, clearly exhausted.

"How is he?" Naruto asked before she could even open her mouth. The nurse sighed, turning her attention to Kakashi.

"Uchiha Sasuke suffered major damage to his Kyumon, his gate of rest, when using that dark chakra. He's in a stable condition, now, but he won't be able to perform any of his duties for quite a while." The nurse replied. Kakashi smiled under his mask, as Sakura gave a relieved sigh. "However, we have a major problem." The nurse continued. Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"What kind of problem?" He asked. The nurse sighed.

"The boy has gained a second chakra reserve, and it's trying to devour his current one. We need to seal it away." The nurse replied. Kakashi nodded.

"Lead on. I'll do it." Kakashi stated. The nurse motioned to the door, glancing at the two Genin.

"Sasuke will be seeing visitors soon." She said. "Please be patient." With that, the nurse and Kakashi entered the room, leaving Naruto and Sakura to their thoughts. Finally, Naruto spoke.

"Sakura, I'll be back after the finals." He said. "I've got a really bad feeling." Sakura nodded.

"I think Shikamaru and Neji would be almost finished by now." She replied softly. Naruto nodded.

"Thanks." With that, he vanished in a whirl of leaves.

-

"Sabaku no Gaara, Aburame Shino, report to the arena!" Genma cried, the two Shinobi appearing in a flicker. Genma almost felt sorry for Shino. The poor boy looked half dead. "Ready?" Genma asked. Shino nodded hesitantly, whilst Gaara's was curt and to the point. With a nod of his own, Genma decided to start the battle.

"3, 2, 1, Hajime!" He called, before flickering straight out of the arena. He didn't want to be in Gaara's way at all. Shino immediately leapt backwards, almost stumbling over his own feet in his exhaustion, as Gaara scowled.

This fight would be too easy for the sand Jinchuuriki.

-

Naruto felt his heart enter his throat as he reappeared in the finalist's box, just in time to watch Gaara begin what could only be called an onslaught. The Suna-nin had unleashed a barrage of Sand Shuriken, the vast majority of them striking Shino cleanly, drawing precious blood from his body. Thankfully, nothing vital had been pierced, yet. Naruto knew that was unlikely to last. Gaara vanished in a whirl of sand, suddenly appearing behind Shino, the sand whirling around his hand and forming a large spear.

"No." Naruto whispered, unable to believe his eyes. Gaara's grin turned maniacal, as he thrust forward with the spear, Shino still yet to move.

When Neji glanced back, wondering who had spoken, there was no one there.

-

"This is the end of the line, weakling!" Gaara cackled. "Die!" He thrust forward with the spear, aiming to pierce Shino through the middle. He never made it, as the spear collided with something hard, too hard. It was white, too, and looked like a wall of thorns. Gaara's breathing hitched, as he realised someone had intervened in his fight.

"That's enough." Naruto cried, allowing his bone shield to crumble to dust as he cradled Shino's unconscious body. "I thought you would have more honour then to battle an opponent who can't even fight back. Proctor, I'm taking him to the hospital." With that, Naruto was gone in a whirl of leaves, long before anyone could say a word. Genma coughed, clearly embarrassed that a Genin had picked up something that he hadn't, even if he hadn't really been paying attention.

"Sabaku no Gaara wins!" He called, although there were no cheers, unlike the other matches. Obviously, the crowd was quite disgusted at the uncaring sand-nin, who simply stood there and awaited his next opponent.

-

"It seems this year will be a good year for Suna." The Yondaime Kazekage chuckled, glancing at Hiruzen as he spoke. Hiruzen, on the other hand, was almost outright disgusted at the Kazekage and his ninja. He could understand Temari, and even, to a degree, Kankurou's, tactics, seeing as they had been facing off with some of the best Genin Konoha had to offer, but Gaara? He was outright brutal. Only years of experience allowed Hiruzen to school his features.

"Perhaps." Was all Hiruzen said in reply. 'I doubt that boy will even be considered for Chunin. The Kazekage wonders why Suna is in financial trouble…'

"I think your brat goes beyond what is necessary to just win, Kazekage-dono." The aged, and short, Tsuchikage noted, from his perch on a special chair made just for him, putting him at Hiruzen's shoulder height. It was necessary, too, for the Tsuchikage's hat was almost as big as he was. Unlike Hiruzen, the Tsuchikage was undoubtedly the oldest Kage alive, and, despite his misgivings about both wars, fought in both the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars. He would have served in the First War, too, if he hadn't been a toddler at the time.

"He gets results." The Kazekage replied, ignoring what was a thinly veiled piece of advice. Hiruzen glanced at his Iwagakure counterpart, both sighing.

"I am still curious as to why you have come, Tsuchikage-dono." Hiruzen spoke up. The Tsuchikage chuckled, rolling his neck absently.

"I'm actually here because of what my sources have told me is a new bloodline." The Tsuchikage admitted, his voice low. "I need to speak with you later, Hiruzen."

"Very well, Tsuchikage-do…"

"Hiruzen, drop the formalities." The Tsuchikage growled. "We fought each other to the death several times, and you still refuse to call me by name?"

"Hai…" Hiruzen and the Tsuchikage began talking in hushed tones in the Kage's box, completely ignoring their Sunagakure counterpart.

-

"Naruto? Why are you… oh, god!" Sakura cried, as Naruto suddenly appeared in a whirl of leaves, the bleeding Shino in his arms.

"There's no time. I need a doctor!" He called. Sakura nodded, running down the hall, leaving Naruto to wait as nurses rushed to give the unconscious boy aid. "Will he be alright?" He asked. One nurse shook her head.

"His hearts collapsed. There isn't time, get him into surgery now!" She called. She then turned to Naruto. "You need to return to the Exam."

"Thank you." He whispered, vanishing in a whirl of leaves. The nurse sighed, as Sakura rushed back, a doctor in tow.

"Doctor, we have a collapsed heart and an unknown amount of damage to the Chakra Coils!" She called. "Patient is heading to Surgery Four right now." The doctor nodded.

"Good." He muttered. "These exams are turning too brutal. Who next?"

-

"Hyuuga Neji, please enter the arena for the semi finals." Genma called, watching the boy flicker into existence. He sighed. 'Kids, think their everything once they learn Shunpo.' He thought.

"This will be quick." Gaara growled. Neji shrugged.

"Destiny has stated that I will win." He replied. Genma glanced from Genin to Genin.

"Ready?" He asked, receiving curt nods in reply. "Very well. 3, 2, 1, Hajime!" Once again, Genma fled the arena, knowing perfectly well that Gaara would kill anything in his way. Neji immediately leapt backwards, his hand forming a very familiar seal.

"Byakugan!" He cried. Gaara snorted, thrusting a hand forward. The sand reacted immediately, blasting forward in a jet. Neji slipped sideway, before shooting forwards, only to leap back again as Gaara swept his hand in front of him, the sand forming a claw that tried to take a swipe at Neji. The Hyuuga prodigy frowned, examining his surroundings and his opponent, evaluating them. Gaara, however, was nowhere near as patient as his Hyuuga opponent, making another gesture with his hands. Neji eyes bugged out in his head, as a wave of sand shot out of the ground behind him, attempting to envelope him for what would no doubt be the killing blow. Shifting his stance, Neji took in a deep breath, preparing himself.

"Kaiten!" He cried, as he suddenly spun, unleashing a small dome of chakra around him that sent the sand flying away in little goblets, some even going far enough to smash into the walls of the arena, leaving behind little dents. Staring at his opponent, Neji let a little grin appear on his face, off set by the blank look in his eyes.

"You are destined to fall. Give up." Neji stated. Gaara snickered in reply.

"You are weak." Gaara growled. "Allow me to show you just how weak!" With a roar, Gaara sent a barrage of sand shuriken at Neji, who shifted back into his Kaiten stance, breathing in deep.

"Kaiten!" He screamed, as he executed the Hyuuga's absolute defence, sending the sand shuriken flying away from him moments before they struck. Coming to a halt, Neji allowed an amused smirk to grace his face.

"This is the power that defeated the Uchiha?" He asked. He suddenly began snickering. "Then fate truly is on my side. You will fall."

"You overestimate yourself, weakling." Gaara replied. "The Uchiha was hardly worth the effort." Nonetheless, Gaara winced as a bout of phantom pain flared up in his hand. Unfortunately for the Suna Jinchuuriki, Neji caught it.

"You say the Uchiha was weak, however, you are clearly in pain from the idiots last attack." Neji stated. "You don't have a chance against me. I'm on a whole other level."

"Shut up!" Gaara screamed. "Sunaryuden!" With that scream, a dragon of sand spun into existence as Gaara's sand focused into a point just in front of him, the dragon flying straight at Neji with a roar. Neji hopped sideways, narrowly avoiding the dragon as it smashed into the arenas wall.

"Strange. That wasn't aimed at me." Neji realised, his head spinning towards Gaara fast enough that a lesser man would have snapped his neck. Gaara, however, was grinning like the madman he was, finishing off a swift set of hand signs.

"Ryusa Bakuryu!" Gaara screamed, as sand shot through the grass on the ground, forming a massive wave of sand. Neji flinched, as the wave struck down on him, before he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

-

Shikamaru let out a moan as he was suddenly jolted to awareness, a doctor standing over him with a pair of defibrillators in hand. Blinking the stars out of his eyes, he wearily accepted the bottle of water that was offered to him.

"What..." He rasped, but was cut off by a finger. Glancing to his left, Shikamaru smiled softly, eyeing the girl beside him, held up by a pair of crutches.

"Hey, Shikamaru. Next time you want to fight a lunatic, at least try not to die." Tenten whispered with a small smirk. Shikamaru shrugged weakly, taking another draught of water.

"What... happened?" He got out, his hand on his ribs. Tenten sighed.

"Neji got you with the deathblow. The doctor thought you might have died." She explained.

"Naruto?"

"Hasn't fought yet. Neji and Gaara are still going at it. Gaara just covered the arena in sand." Shikamaru adopted a thoughtful look, his eyes drooping.

"Gaara... lose." He whispered, passing out. Tenten frowned.

It wasn't a question or a thought. It was a statement of fact. Shikamaru thought Gaara would lose.

-

"Damn it!" Gaara screamed, sand buffeting around him as he stalked around the arena. "Fight me, coward! Prove my existence!"

"The only thing I'll prove, is how you will die." Neji replied, his voice echoing from all directions. Gaara snorted in reply, flickering out of existence as a hurricane of chakra burst from the sand beneath him.

"You're too slow." Gaara stated coolly. Neji didn't reply, falling into the gentle fist stance instead. Gaara's eyes narrowed, the side of his mouth twitching into a sadistic smile. Clapping his hands together, Gaara closed his eyes as the sand whirled around his form, creating a giant cocoon.

"Die!" Gaara's voice cried, a claw bursting forth from the cocoon and grabbing at the place Neji had stood barely a moment before. Shunpo'ing out of the way, Neji lunged forward, punching a hole in the cocoon with a mighty blast of chakra from his palm.

"Hakkeshou, Sanjyuuni Shou!" Neji cried, driving both of his palms hard against Gaara's chest, to the Jinchuuriki's surprise. "Two Palms!" Flickering out of existence, Neji slammed his palms into Gaara's back, tapping the boy's shins as he went flying face first into the sand. "Four Palms!" Flickering away again, Neji reappeared in front of Gaara, juggling him in the air with several uppercuts. "Eight Palms!" With a cry, he kicked Gaara high into the air, leaping up after him, pummelling him with palm strike after palm strike. "Sixteen Palms!" Neji didn't let up, finally sending Gaara crashing to the ground with an axe kick. Taking in a deep breath, Neji shot down to the ground, smashing Gaara in the heart with both palms. "Thirty-two Palms!" Taking in a deep breath, Neji leapt backwards, almost stumbling. Gaara didn't move, as Genma suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke, checking his pulse.

"Sabaku no Gaara appears to have been knocked out. Hyuuga Neji wins!" Genma cried. Neji grunted to himself as he walked back to the finalists box, ignoring Genma's statement of a half an hour grace period.

All he needed was a Soldier Pill and he'd be fighting at maximum efficiency again. There was nothing else to it. Fate had decreed his victory.

-

Naruto felt his heart go out to Gaara, as he watched the fight end. It had been a brutal finishing attack, but it was effective. Naruto frowned to himself as he glanced at his hands, the very hands that could shoot bone bullets.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Naruto glanced back at the soft voice, his eyes falling on Hinata. She was leaning against the wall of the box, her hands nervously clasped in front of her chest.

"I'm fine, Hinata." Naruto replied, a small smile gracing his face. "I've got my bones, and if worst comes to worse, I've got _it_."

"It?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head.

"It's nothing." He amended. "Just plan B." Hinata's eyebrow twitched, but she didn't press the matter. The two sat in silence for a time, until Naruto heard the crowd suddenly roar.

"Will Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto please make their way to the arena." Naruto let out a deep breath, glancing back at Hinata one last time.  
"Good luck, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered. Naruto grinned in reply.

"Thanks, Hinata." He replied, vanishing in a whirl of blue.

* * *

Jutsu Glossary

_Sunaryudan _(Sand Dragon Blast)

Unknown, 0-50 metres

Using the sand around him, Gaara can form a large dragon made entirely of sand to attack his foes. Unfortunately, the technique doesn't have the same destructive potential as the other dragon Jutsu.

_-_

_Ryusa Bakuryu _(Quicksand in the style of a Waterfall)

Unknown

By gathering minerals from the earth, Gaara can increase the amount of sand he controls to epic proportions, of which he then effectively turns into a tsunami and drops on his foe. After this Jutsu, the most common followup is Sabaku Taiso, which will kill anything under the newly deposited sand. Interestingly enough, this is quite possibly the only Jutsu Gaara uses that requires hand signs, meaning, feasibly, anyone could possibly use it. This also means that, feasibly, it could be ranked.

-

_Kaiten _(Heavenly Spin)

Un-ranked Hyuuga Taijutsu, 0-5 metres

A Hyuuga clan secret, the Kaiten involves its wielder spinning in a circle, much like a spinning top, whilst exuding a barrier of chakra. The technique creates a dome around the user, making contact by projectiles almost impossible. It also serves as a fairly effective short range area of effect attack.

-

**Been a while, hasn't it. I won't make excuses, but my teachers at school decided that I could take five assignments at once, on top of exams. Hopefully after next week I'll have some time in my schedule again. Sorry this chapters short, but when I included Naruto's battle, it just got too long. I say it's better to be short then long. Anyway, this chapter was just shy of 4000 words (bout 3900), so its only short by about 500 or so. Also, I received some complaints about the way I paragraph things (apparently its too close), so hopefully my compromise worked.**

**Don't read too far into Gaara's defeat by Neji. Look underneath the underneath... or simply put facts together. An invasion is about to happen, after all (wink).**

**Next chapter begins at Naruto's battle. I'm still writing it, so I'm not sure where it ends, but we might be pushing 5500 words. I'm actually looking forward to this...**


	6. The Eight Trigrams Fail!

_The beginning of the End..._

_Naruto: So, this is it, eh, Kimmimaro?_

_Kimmimaro: Indeed. Lord Orochimaru will attack during the finals._

_Naruto: I wander...  
???: Don't hurt yourself, Uzumaki Naruto.  
Kimmimaro and Naruto: ?!_

* * *

Chapter 6,

A Final to Remember! The Eight Trigrams Fail!

-

"Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, are you ready?" Genma asked, his eyes moving from one Genin to the other. Naruto didn't move his eyes away from Neji, even as he slipped his arms out of his kimono, letting it hang from his waist.

"I am ready, proctor." Naruto stated clearly. Neji gave a curt nod.

"I too, am ready." Genma nodded, raising his right arm.

"Hajime!" He called, bringing it down. Both ninja leapt backwards several feet, Neji landing in what had become a familiar hand sign to the audience.

"Byakugan!" He cried. Naruto skidded along the ground an extra foot, kicking up dust as he spun in a full circle, his fingertips pointing dangerously at Neji.

"Teshi Sendan!" He called out to the world, his fingertips shooting at Neji haphazardly, each with deadly accuracy. Neji's eyes widened, as he suddenly spun in a circle, executing a perfect Kaiten to block the bone bullets. Both teenage boys soon came to a standstill, Neji in the traditional Jyuuken stance, Naruto in a half crouch, his deadly fingertips still pointed at Neji's body. Neither moved an inch, despite the fire that seemed to burn between them.

All the audience could do was hold their breath in amazement at the two Genin, although the term hardly seemed to fit anymore. Older shinobi were surprised, as even the Kages found themselves waiting in anticipation. Only twelve seconds had passed.

-

'Dear god.' Kakashi thought to himself, having arrived just in time to catch the finals starting again, slightly out of breath. 'Did Naruto just...'

"Freaky, isn't it." Sakura whispered from her newly reclaimed seat, ignoring the stares of the Genin around her. "Naruto's weapon of choice has become his own body, his own bones."

"Am I the only person who finds that a little sick?" Ino asked, taking in deep breaths. Sakura shrugged.

"No, I just had to get used to it. If I can't watch my own team-mate fight in combat, then how can I fight myself?" She asked back.

"Look at it this way." Asuma stated. "At least he's never defenceless." The group fell silent after that.

-

"Fate has decreed my victory here today, Uzumaki." Neji called. "Surrender, and save yourself the embarrassment." Naruto didn't reply, his fingers still pointing at Neji, the two locked in a staring competition, finally, Naruto's mouth opened.

"I can continue to fight for half an hour of continuous combat." He stated. "We've fought for twelve seconds. Trust me, Neji, you haven't seen nothing yet." With that, Naruto shot off another barrage of bone bullets, watching calmly as Neji simply performed another Kaiten.

"The definition of stupid, Uzumaki, is performing the same action and expecting different results." Neji taunted coldly, his eyes ablaze and unamused. Naruto cocked his head to the side, unexpressed laughter quickly becoming alight in his eyes as he realised his opponent's misinterpretation, silently thanking whatever deity was out there that Hinata was such a damn good teacher of reading people.

"Who said I was looking for a different result, Neji?" He asked. "After seeing you perform the Kaiten twice, and looking at your breathing, I can effectively tell how fit for combat you are." Neji's breathing hitched, his eyes widening by an almost imperceptible amount. "Your breathing is heavier then it was before, and your stance is a little more lazy after that second Kaiten. You can't keep using it, can you?" Neji threw caution into the winds, suddenly charging at Naruto. The boy waited a second longer, before springing forth himself, breathing in deeply.

"Yanagi no Mai!" Naruto cried, a pair of bone blades shooting from his palms as he spun around a finger strike aimed at his heart. Continuing his spin, Naruto slashed at Neji, cutting open his jacket just over his chest. Naruto continued his attack, stabbing at Neji again and again, the Hyuuga struggling to continue parrying the stabs. Seven stabs later, Neji slipped up, and was impaled, only to be replaced with a log. Twenty one seconds had passed.

-

"Hinata, how soon do you predict Neji's defeat?" Hiashi asked suddenly, amusement in his eyes as he watched Neji struggle with the bone ninja. In the seat beside him, Hinata hesitated.

"If Naruto-kun stopped playing, maybe three minutes at the most, Tousan." Hinata replied. "It would depend when Neji used the thirty-two palms." Hiashi's eyebrow went up by a fraction of a millimetre, the only sign that he was surprised.

"Explain." He commanded, Hanabi tearing her gaze away from the combat to hear the explanation.

"Naruto-kun's quickest way of winning is to let Neji-niisan skewer himself." Hinata explained quickly, her eyes still watching Naruto toy with Neji, lazily dancing around the Hyuuga prodigy and nicking him with the bone spikes of the Yanagi no Mai. "When Neji-niisan uses the thirty-two palms, Naruto-kun will counter with the Karamatsu no Mai, and since the thirty-two palms must be completed once the Hakke symbol is formed, Neji-niisan will skewer himself on Naruto-kun's bones." Hanabi winced at her sisters description of the rather brutal method of victory.

"Isn't that a little overkill?" She whispered, more to herself then anyone else. Unfortunately for the young girl, her father heard her.

"Perhaps it is overkill, but the ability to turn your opponent's most powerful weapon against him is a much sought out tool in the ninja world. Uzumaki-san will almost certainly be placed in the bingo book after these exams, by Iwa if by nowhere else." Hiashi commented, his eyebrows furrowed. "I am interested to see if Neji can defend himself from Uzumaki-san."

-

One slash, two slashes, three slashes, a stab, a knee. Neji caught the last of these, blocking off several tenketsu in Naruto's thigh as he did so.

"That wasn't very smart of you, was it, Uzumaki?" Neji jeered. Naruto rolled his eyes, making no attempt to free his knee.

"Yanagi no Mai!" He cried, a spike shooting from his kneecap, slicing straight through the side of Neji's ribs. The Genin let out a moan of pain as he hurriedly threw Naruto aside, wiping the blood from his chin as he returned to his Jyuuken stance. Naruto smirked as he stood up tall, dusting off his hands as the spike crumbled to dust, letting the blood fall to the ground with it.

"You know, there are two kinds of people in this world." Naruto spoke up. "Those that protect, and those that kill. Which category do you fall into, I wonder." With that, he shunpo'd away, reappearing back to back with Neji, his right hand ripping a bone sword from his shoulder. "Tsubaki no Mai!"

"Kaiten!" Neji cried, forcing Naruto to fall back or be ripped apart. Spinning around as he skidded along the ground, Naruto let loose an annoyed spray of bone bullets from his left hand, before ripping a second bone sword from his right shoulder.

"Fate is immutable." Neji stated calmly, although Naruto could see the rage in his eyes. "It's decrees have forced hatred and pain upon the branch family, but I broke free of it! Fate has granted me the power to become the strongest of the Hyuuga..."

"Shut up." Naruto snapped. "Don't think I'm unaware of the Hyuuga Juinjutsu. Hinata told me about it, about how you whine about being forced to serve, when your only 'master' is Hinata. Has she ever made you do anything? The Juinjutsu is wrong, and she knows it, so how about you get the stick out of your arse and help her get rid of it." Naruto began to advance on Neji, pumping calcium and chakra into his weapons, turning them from swords into what looked like giant, menacing Zweihanders. With his Byakugan, Neji could see the red chakra begin to flow from Naruto's navel.

'What kind of monster is he?' Neji thought in horror, taking a step backwards. Naruto's eyes darkened, his hair growing just that slight bit shaggier, his whisker marks darkening just that tiny bit.

"You want to know what really pisses me off, though, Neji?" Naruto snarled. "You've never had to fight for your life. You have a sensei, team mates and family that will fight to protect you. My sensei and my team are the very first people to give me such a bond. After all, Teuchi, Iruka-sensei, the Hokage, they can only help something like me so much." Naruto's voice was bitter, angry, as his eyes started to take on a red tinge. Suddenly, the boy stopped, glancing at the ground.

"You can stop now." He commanded his navel, to Neji's surprise. "I'm not moving from this spot until its _all_ gone."

-

In his cage, the Kyuubi was very amused. He had wondered if his host had picked up on the chakra he'd been pumping into the boys system. Now he knew.

"Very well, kit." He lamented. "Your will be done, for now." With that, he drew his chakra back into the cage. However, as it did so, he made sure to make a jet of his chakra smack the diseased cells in the boys left lung, making sure to do so just as the boy breathed out. It was annoying. He just couldn't work out what the hell that disease was. It almost had a mind of its own.

"Just hurry up and win."

-

"What the hell?" Kiba exclaimed, on his feet and roaring at the still battlefield. "Get back to the fight!"

"Naruto's conserving himself." Kakashi noted. "The battle has effectively gone for five minutes. He's buying time to restart the counter." To his right, Asuma took in a deep puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"Why would he do that?" He asked. Kakashi raised a hand, before going still. Asuma frowned, but went still himself.

"You feel that?" Kakashi asked. "The hatred lying in wait? Someone means to attack Konoha."

"Dear lord." Asuma whispered. "We need to..."

"We do nothing." Kakashi stated. "Naruto's baiting Neji, but buying time to reset the counter. That means only one thing." Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on him, expecting an answer.

"That means what?" Ino asked, impatient. Sakura shot her a glare, but said nothing, allowing Kakashi to finish.

"Naruto wants Neji to use the thirty-two palms." Kakashi finished, to the shock of all.

-

Watching Naruto stand still silently, looking pointedly at his stomach, was too much for Neji's ego. His opponent thought his stomach was more important then his opponent? He had the audacity to treat him as trash? The dead last!

"That's enough." Neji snarled. "I was going to save this for someone much more worthy, but I think it will prove my point. It is my destiny to claim victory here!" Naruto didn't look up, but was smirking inwardly. So Hinata's suspicions were true. Neji did have a new trick. Neji slid into a new stance, his hands out wide, as a victorious smirk came to his face, the Hakke forming around both him and Naruto.

"Hekkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou!" He screamed. Naruto's head snapped up, a smile on his face. So he was going for broke with the family secret move. All the better. Neji spun before lunging forward, his fingers coming in, completely committed to the attack. If a single hit connected, it would be over.

"Two palms!" He cried, the first to strikes smashing into Naruto's shoulders. Neji spun for momentum, preparing for the next set of strikes. That was were it would end.

"Karamatsu no Mai!" Naruto screamed, bone spikes shooting from his body, turning him into a living porcupine. Neji was too close to move, and was skewered as the bones sprouted, like the branches of a tree. Naruto could hear the screams of terror from the crowd, the surprise, and Neji's own groan of pain, right before he passed out. He was impaled through his left forearm, his right shoulder, just beside his kidney, his right thigh, his left shin and through both feet, whilst one spike had just narrowly missed his neck, blood slowly seeping down the branches of bone.

"That is how you defeat the ultimate attack of the Hyuuga." Naruto whispered, knowing Neji couldn't hear him, but not really caring. "You use the ultimate defence of the Shikotsumyaku."

"It's over! Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma cried, almost surprising Naruto by how close he was. With a quick click of Naruto's fingers, the bones disintegrated, Neji falling to the ground hard, landing in a crumpled heap. Medics rushed past, cradling the boy as they lifted him onto a stretcher and rushed him to the medical ward, but Naruto, for some reason, couldn't bring himself to care. Something was very out of place. He could feel it in his bones.

The same deadly bones he used to fight.

-

"Sasuke will see visitors now." The nurse stated, showing Sakura and Kakashi in. There was a half an hour interlude before the awarding of the Chunin vest ceremony, giving the pair a chance to check on Sasuke. Naruto, unfortunately, was forced to remain behind, having been one of the finalists and the winner of the tournament, for a meeting with the Kage's. Walking into the room, Sakura's heart suddenly soared, as she caught sight of Sasuke, sitting irritably on his bed.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun." She called, a warm smile on her face. Kakashi waved his hand, but secretly taking delight has Sasuke's expression went from irritation to his usual passiveness.

"Finally, someone who would know how the finals finished." Sasuke called. "Who won?"

"Naruto did." Kakashi replied. "Skewered Neji rather viciously." Sasuke whistled, shaking his head.

"Wish I had been there to see it." He replied. "So, what now?"

"All finalists that are well enough to move are to attend the awarding ceremony in about, oh, twenty minutes." Kakashi explained, rattling off time in his head. "Since you don't have a IV, I think your well enough."

"Right. Any word on who made Chunin?" Sasuke seemed almost hungry for news, but Kakashi was happy. The Ten no Fuin was still sealed as strongly as ever.

"Not yet. I think its reasonable to think Naruto made the grade, perhaps Shikamaru did, too. As for anyone else, its a tossup. Even I don't know all the criteria the judges look for." Kakashi reasoned. "So, how do you feel?"

"Better then before." Sasuke muttered, flexing his hand. "I wonder if this is how Naruto feels?" Kakashi's eye shot up.

"Maa?" It was a question, but not much of one. Sakura just stared at Sasuke, confused.

"The second chakra. It's hovering just out of my reach, but I feel it. It's strange, dark but comforting..." Sasuke whispered, entranced. Kakashi felt his stomach twitch.

'That might not be good.' He thought. Sasuke suddenly glanced at him.

"Let's go. I want out of this bed." He stated, a small smirk on his face. "It's far too small."

-

"People of Konoha, visiting dignitaries and foreigners..." Hiruzen cried out to the stadium, the remaining 'fit' finalists standing before him in a line. Of the eight, only Naruto, Gaara, Temari and Sasuke were actually well enough to attend. To Hiruzen's left was the Tsuchikage, whilst on his right was the Kazekage.

"... I stand before you, today, at the conclusion of what has been the most bloody Chunin exams since its beginning, twenty seven years ago. Today, you have seen eight valiant ninjas place their lives on the line to defend the pride of their villages. Of these eight, four are still in hospital, three in critical condition. To me, and the Kage's, we see this not as a Chunin exam, as it should be, but what appears to have been a mocking example of what we would expect to see in a Jounin exam." The crowd held its breath, but Naruto remained calm, his eyes closed. He could feel the disease just under his skin, slowly returning to that feeling of full rest. It was almost there. He could almost fight for half an hour. However, that did little to ease his mind.

"Today, you have shown yourselves as valiant and skilled ninja." The Tsuchikage spoke up gruffly, a small smile on his face. "Some of you, the kind of ninja I wish I could see more often in my own village. Some of you, not so much. The fact remains, however, that of your ranks, some will be elevated to the prestigious rank of Chunin. However, some will not."

"Do not think that your failure to gain rank reflects badly upon yourself." The Kazekage spoke up. "It may be that you haven't shown us the skills we were looking for, or it may be that you withheld too much of your skill. However, reaching the finals brings immediate prestige upon the ninja who do so. You are automatically a cut above your peers now." That speech sent off warning bells in both Naruto and Sasuke's heads. The language was all wrong from what they'd been taught about the Kazekage. Anything less then a tyrannical statement of the inferiority of everyone who lost was. Staring into the Hokage's eyes, they both found the message they were looking for, as Hiruzen glanced at the man, then squinted slightly with his right eye. It was the Konoha body language for impostor.

"Our first Chunin will be Nara Shikamaru. Shikamaru demonstrated great tactical skills and even showed that he was willing to sacrifice it all for the sake of a comrade, even going above and beyond the call of duty in an attempt to take his opponent down with him. For his bravery and strength, we award him the Chunin rank. Would his Jounin sensei would please approach to take his award in his place, as Shikamaru is too injured to appear at this ceremony." Hiruzen called, watching Asuma suddenly flicker into existence before his father, kneeling. He accepted the vest almost reverently, before flickering away again to give it to its new owner.

"Our next Chunin fought against almost impossible odds, against an opponent that, by all rights, should not have been in these exams. He fought what can only be called a brutal onslaught, an, if not for a miscalculation, would have not only won, but killed his opponent. From only one battle, we have seen enough to deem that Uchiha Sasuke possesses the skills and strategic ability to not only succeed as a Chunin, but thrive." The Kazekage stated, further cementing in both Naruto and Sasuke's minds that he was an impostor. The way he purred every time he said Sasuke's name was barely noticeable, but both caught it. Stepping forward and accepting his Chunin vest on one knee, Sasuke quickly bowed before the Kage's, well aware he had only narrowly been promoted.

"Our final..." Hiruzen started, but was cut off as the Tsuchikage stepped forward.

"If I may, Hiruzen, I would like to handle this." He stated. Hiruzen's eyes suddenly sparkled with mischief as he nodded, giving the Chunin vest to the Tsuchikage before stepping back. The Tsuchikage cleared his throat with a harsh cough, stepping forward.

"Our final Chunin is quite the anomaly. I have reigned as a Kage for almost seventy three years, and am, as I am told, the oldest ninja, let alone Kage, alive. Thus, imagine my surprise when I see a young man with no name in the shinobi world to speak of suddenly appear out of no where in the Chunin exam finals and not only survive, but thrive. Imagine my surprise when he completely outclasses the prodigy of Konohagakure's most prestigious clan. I am almost ashamed to admit that I wish he had been born in Iwa. A nation should not covet another nations ninja, a Kage less so, but in this Genin's case, I can't help but do so." The Tsuchikage called, his voice loud and steady. "In my eighty six years as a ninja, I have never, ever, seen anyone so ingeniously defeat a member of the Hyuuga clan, a clan whose ultimate attack predates even me. I have never seen anyone turn the Hyuuga's greatest weapon into their ultimate weakness. Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward." Naruto didn't hesitate, stepping forward and kneeling before the aged Tsuchikage, surprised that, only when kneeling, with his back bent, was he the same size as the diminutive man.

"Yes, lord Tsuchikage?" Naruto asked politely, keeping his gaze low. He stiffened as a cane puffed into existence, the man using it as a staff.

"On behalf of both Konohagakure within Hi no Kuni, and Iwagakure of Tsuchi no Kuni, I hereby name you Chunin. Your vest, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto's heart skipped multiple beats, as he glanced up, accepting the vest reverently.

"In addition..." Now everyone was surprised, as the Tsuchikage continued, tapping his staff once on each of Naruto's shoulders. "I hereby grant you the name Shikotsumyaku no Naruto, a member of Konoha's finest warriors. On behalf of Iwagakure, I thank you, Naruto. You have set the standard of which my shinobi should aspire to." With that, the aged Kage stepped back, allowing Naruto to fall back beside Sasuke. Hiruzen stepped forward again, but suddenly came to a halt, as feathers started to fall from the sky. He caught one, annoyance in his eyes. His gaze then went to Naruto and Sasuke, staring at him intently. He winked three times in quick succession.

Genjutsu.

-

Hiashi suddenly cursed vehemently, leaping to his feet as his hands formed the ram, placing his wrists upon his youngest daughters head even as Hinata recognised the feathers for what they were; a Genjutsu that induced sleep.

"Genjutsu Kai!" The two shinobi cried as one, forcing the Genjutsu away from them. Watching the arena intently, Hiashi grabbed Hinata's shoulder, letting her look at him.

"Take Hanabi and run. Find the hospital and ensure that it remains unharmed. In invasions, we must protect our infrastructure. Nothing else matters. Go!" Hinata nodded, spinning around and running, Hanabi's hand clasped tightly in her own. Turning back to the arena, Hiashi leapt out of the stands, landing inside the torrent of sand that was rising. Then his heart stopped.

He hoped to whatever gods existed that what he saw was not real. Unfortunately, it was.

-

"Sasuke, let's rock!" Naruto cried, as Temari suddenly swung her fan. Both narrowly dodged the buffet of air, Naruto dancing around it easily as he ripped a bone sword from his left shoulder. "Tsubaki no Mai!" Sasuke, on the other hand, simply flipped over it, charging forward as he tapped down. He was quickly cut off by a blast of sand.

"Your mine!" Gaara screamed, sending Sand Shuriken at Sasuke from all directions. Biting off a curse, Sasuke fell back, letting Naruto fly past. Temari swore, sweeping the fan again, but her weapon never moved past her shoulder. A white haired man stood there, holding her weapon in place by the handle, his grey kimono dangling from his waist, held there by purple rope tied in a bow behind his back, over his black hakama. Upon his forehead were two ruby red dots.

"I'll handle this." He stated calmly. "Gaara-san, deal with the Uchiha trash." Gaara was only too happy to oblige, laughing sadistically as the ground around them turned into a typhoon of sand.

"Sasuke, I'll lure this guy away." Naruto called. "Think you can take red-head?"

"Maybe. That depends." Sasuke replied.

"On what?" Now Naruto was curious.

"Is the sky blue?" Sasuke replied, the two sharing a small grin.

"Time to fly!" Naruto cried, lunging forward and hacking at the newcomer with his bone sword. His heart almost stopped beating in his chest a moment later.

Pure white, one hundred percent fusion of calcium and marrow bone sprouted from the mans shoulder, stopping the bone sword in its tracks.

"No." Naruto whispered, almost unable to believe. Standing in front of him, was a man that could prove to be his salvation.

"My name is Kaguya Kimmimaro." The white haired bone-nin stated. "You, Shikotsumyaku no Uzumaki Naruto, have my one hundred percent, undivided attention."

-

"You know, Hiruzen, I've met a lot of idiotic Kage's in my life." The Tsuchikage stated, tossing his hat aside as the pair landed behind the Kazekage upon the rooftops of Konoha, a black pyramid around them. "But poor little yondie Kazekage here, he takes the cake." His gaze then hardened. "Or..."

"Should we call you Orochimaru, my wayward student." Hiruzen finished for his colleague. The Kazekage chuckled, suddenly hurling away the robe and hat, the skin he'd used as a mask flying off with them.

"I was wondering if you had figured it out." Orochimaru sneered, his hands folded over his chest. Neither Kage gave an immediate answer to that, both tossing their hats aside and removing their robes to reveal full ANBU combat armour, glinting a glossy black in the eery purple light.

"It's time for me to correct my mistake." Hiruzen stated. "Orochimaru, this is the end."

-

"Hinata-chan, wait up!" Hanabi cried, as her sister slipped into an alley. She almost cried out as suddenly a pair of Oto-nin went flying back out of the alley, one unconscious from what was most likely Jyuuken strikes. The other had a kunai in his neck. Hinata exited the alley as quickly as she'd entered, her breathing only slightly uneven.

"This is becoming dangerous, Hanabi-chan. Let's go." Hinata whispered, turning to run down the road again. She didn't run, though, instead eyeing the man in a black cloak before her, red clouds adorning it. His head was covered by a straw hat.

"I am looking for Uzumaki Naruto. Where is he?" The man rasped. Hinata fell into the stance of the gentle fist, her eyes suddenly ablaze with the Byakugan.

"Hanabi-chan, run and don't look back!" She cried, lunging forward. The robed ninja simply raised his right hand, palm outstretched.

"Shinra Tensei!" He roared. Hanabi screamed as Hinata was suddenly hurled backwards, flying straight past her and crashing into the ground hard. Before either of the girls could blink, the mans foot was on Hinata's chest, pinning her to the ground.

"I will not ask again." The man whispered, allowing only Hinata to hear him. "Where is Uzumaki Naruto? Where is the Kyuubi Jinchuriki?" Staring into Hinata's eyes, he was unsurprised that she had no idea what he was talking about. Sighing, he removed his foot. "You know nothing. I abhor pointless violence, so be on your way." With that, he simply walked down the street, completely ignoring the war raging around him. That is, until a Suna-nin lunged at Hanabi. Hinata was still to far away to save her.

"Bansho Ten'in" The man called. Suddenly, the Suna-nin flew at the mystery man, who grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground, breaking most of his ribs. Without another word, he simply kept on walking. Hinata let out a sigh of relief, hugging Hanabi tightly.

"Let's go." She whispered. She froze as a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"One more question." The man whispered. "Where is the Hokage?"

"I don't know. He leapt onto the rooftops." Hinata whispered. The man nodded.

"Thank you. May your journey end with peace." With that, he simply walked away again. Hinata spun around to look at him.

"Who are you?" She asked. The man stopped, and Hinata could almost feel the smile on his face.

"I am the Rikudo Sennin, Hyuuga Hinata." He replied. "You may call me... Yahiko. Tell Naruto that I'm proud of who he is becoming." With that, Yahiko vanished into thin air.

-

"Did you find him?" A soft voice asked, his hands in the pockets of his black robe lined with red clouds. Three men stood side by side, all wearing the same cloak and the same straw hats. The only difference was the three rings they wore. The middle man wore a ring with 'Zero' inscribed in it, whilst the man to his left wore one with 'Vermillion', the one to his right, 'South'.

"No. I suspect Uzumaki Naruto is caught in the sandstorm within the arena." Yahiko replied, his eyes closed. The man to his right snorted, his voice gruff, almost watery.

"This is getting ugly. We lost Deidara yesterday, Taicho." He growled. "Hidan found him."

"This division may just tear the world apart yet." The first speaker muttered. "Konohagakure may not survive the invasion."

"Konoha's survival is not necessary for our own." Yahiko rebuked gently. "Only that of Uzumaki Naruto's."

"I should kill Danzo." The first speaker muttered to himself. The third chuckled.

"Really? Can I help?" He asked, almost childishly. Yahiko shook his head.

"Danzo is an obstacle, but we cannot remove him just yet. We must decimate his support first. The Ne ANBU must be destroyed first." Yahiko explained. "Itachi-kun, find your brother, aid him in defeating Sabaku no Gaara. Kisame-san, find and destroy any and all Suna and Oto-nin you can find."

"And you?" Itachi whispered. Yahiko closed his eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto remains my primary objective, but I must ensure Orochimaru does not succeed in killing the Hokage. We must not give Danzo any ground that he can use against Uzumaki Naruto." He finished. "Move out." With that, he flickered out of existence. Itachi and Kisame glanced at each other, Sharingan eyes staring into that of a shark.

"Let's begin the main event, then." Itachi noted, vanishing in a puff. Kisame sighed irritably.

"How the hell do they do that?" He wondered. "No chakra, no hand signs, no nothing. It's like teleporting." Finishing his little rant, his body collapsed as it turned into a puddle of water.

* * *

Jutsu Glossary

_Shinra Tensei_

No-rank, 0-10 metres

Using this Jutsu, Yahiko can emit a massive blast of force that repels any and all objects from his body. This Jutsu has a five second cooldown, but no chakra cost.

-

_Bansho Ten'in_

No-rank, 0-10 metres

Using this Jutsu, Yahiko can attract objects and people towards him with tremendous force. This Jutsu has a five second cooldown, but no chakra cost.

-

_Hakkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou (Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms)_

Un-ranked Taijutsu, 0-5 metres

Amongst a family of secret techniques within the Hyuuga family, the Rokujyuuyon Shou is possibly the most well known and feared application of Jyuuken. Once the Hakke has formed, the Hakkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou consists of 64 well placed, painful blows to the target that seal off sixty three tenketsu in the body before blasting them all open again. Alternatively, the final blow can be swapped for a sixty fourth sealed tenketsu.

-

Term Glossary

_Rikudo Sennin (The Sage of Six Paths)_

The title of a legendary warrior that marked both the creation of Ninjutsu and the beginning of the modern ninja world. Said to be the original creator of Ninjutsu, the Rikudo Sennin existed long before the beginning of Naruto, and presumably is long dead. To call oneself the Rikudo Sennin is to call oneself the God of Shinobi, and declare that you are invincible. Of course, any self respecting ninja will happily dispute such a claim.

-

_Shikotsumyaku no Naruto ( Naruto of the Dead Bone Pulse)_

A title granted to Naruto by the Tsuchikage himself, granting an instant and immediate capture on sight order within the borders of Tsuchi no Kuni. However, as the Tsuchikage granted Naruto this title, he also has the benefit on the doubt, a don't kill order within Iwa without extreme provocation and he is granted limited access to resources within Iwagakure, so long as his actions are within Iwa's best interests. As per every titled ninja, Naruto is henceforth referred to in the ninja world as Shikotsumyaku no Naruto, rather then Uzumaki Naruto, and is an instant placement in the bingo books as a minimum C-rank threat (although Iwa ranks him as a mid B).

-

**There you go. Naruto's battle with Neji is over and the Invasion has begun. Now, please take a moment to respect the death of possibly one of the most powerful ninja of all time, Nagato. May you rest in peace.**

**Yes, Yahiko is EXACTLY who you think he is. He plays a major part in what is to come.**

**I am aware many are going to be annoyed with me promoting Sasuke. However, promoting him was necessary for the events that are about to occur. Both Naruto and Sasuke are about to need the extra prestige being a Chunin grants.**

**I am very peeved with Kishimoto at the moment. Stop making Sasuke out to be an ass and save his freaking character before its too late. I mean, at one point you almost had me thinking he'd return to Konoha, but no, he has to be an absolute freaking idiot. Sasuke is smarter then your making him out to be!**


	7. Three Tragic Battles

_The Rikudo Sennin's power: Shinra Bansho Part 1_

_Yahiko: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Today I will explain to you how Shinra Tensei and Bansho Ten'in work._

_Hinata: Ano, what are they?_

_Yahiko: The Rikudo Sennin possessed a transcendent bloodline, all those years ago. As I, too, possess that bloodline, I also possess the multitude of abilities it grants. One is access to the sixth element of chakra, the Void._

_Hanabi: Nani?_

_Yahiko: The Void encompasses what the other five elements cannot. Gravity, time, space, all these are within the limits of the Void. Shinra Tensei manipulates the chakra fields in the air, thus causing a massive blast of repulsing energy that possesses approximately two thousand tonnes of force at maximum power. As you can probably guess, it is more then enough to send anyone or anything flying._

_Hinata: And Bansho Ten'in?_

_Yahiko: Works in reverse. The chakra fields are manipulated to attract anyone or thing towards me. Again, this possesses approximately two thousand tonnes of force at full power, so there isn't much that won't be moved. (Looks into the distance) Excuse me, I must save Uzumaki Naruto… oh dear, that's…_

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 7,

Three Tragic Battles, the Shikotsumyaku Breaks!

-

It was a standstill. There was nothing more to it then that. Orochimaru stood on one side of the rooftop, Hiruzen and the Tsuchikage on the other.

"This is not going to end well, is it, Hiruzen?" The Tsuchikage muttered, his eyes never once leaving Orochimaru. Hiruzen couldn't help but agree with that statement, his hands clenched at his sides.

"It's time I did what I should have done years ago." Hiruzen stated. "This time, I won't let you leave, Orochimaru."

"Let me leave?" Orochimaru retorted, pacing slowly along the rooftop. "You cannot defeat me now, old man! Soon I will be more powerful then even the Yondaime!"

"You mean you will obtain Uchiha Sasuke's Sharingan." Hiruzen predicted. "I'm afraid that, in order to do that, Orochimaru, you need to best me." Grinning sadistically, Orochimaru formed a quick hand sign before reaching out with his outstretched right arm.

"Sen'enjaishu!" With a cry, a swarm of snakes shot from his arm, flying at the two Kage's, neither budging an inch. The Tsuchikage's face broke into a wry grin as he formed the dragon with his hands, almost snickering.

"Doton, Iwa no O-Tate, Kakomu!" He cried, a sphere of earth smashing through the rooftop and enveloping them. The snakes bounced harmlessly of the earthen barrier, making it impossible to harm the pair.

"You have much to learn, my wayward student." Hiruzen noted, back-to-back with Orochimaru. "Ambition and greed, pride and envy, the will to cause pain and destruction, all these things lead only to pain and suffering. By the Will of Fire, I will destroy you here, and set your victims free!" Forming a hand sign, Sarutobai began to channel an inordinate amount of chakra through his limbs. "Katon, Karyu no Rin!" Taking in a deep breath, Hiruzen shot a blast of fire from his mouth, the inferno weaving around his body and burning everything in its path. Orochimaru let out a cry of pain as he burned, before suddenly vanishing in a puff of smoke.

-

Leaping over another barrage of sand shuriken, Sasuke let out a short curse as he searched the arena for Naruto. There was no sign of either him or the white haired man. Whether that was a good thing or not, Sasuke was yet to decide. On one hand, that meant he had no back up to speak of whatsoever. On the other, however, it was one less enemy Sasuke had to fight. Turning his attention back to Gaara, Sasuke whipped his last fuuma shuriken out from under his shirt. Time to work out a new trick.

"Oyo, catch!" Sasuke cried, hurling the shuriken as hard as he could. Gaara didn't even pay attention to it, lunging forward past it as the sand formed a large claw, reaching out to claim Sasuke's life. Sasuke didn't give a damn, though.

He was going to prove the Hokage right in promoting him, even if it killed him to do so!

"Boom." Sasuke muttered, watching the explosive tag riddled fuuma shuriken explode. There was the hole in the sand he was looking for. Darting forward, Sasuke smashed his fist straight into Gaara's face, breaking his nose. It felt good, very good.

Gaara let out a snarl as he wheeled back, the sand whirling around Sasuke. Snapping his nose back into place with one hand, Gaara snapped the other hand closed.

"Suna Kasui Jigoku!" He cried in anger. Sasuke's eyes bugged out in his head as the sand around him grew spikes, all attempting to impale him in a method much like the Karamatsu no Mai.

"Typical." Sasuke groaned, spinning to dodge the spikes. "You see a good trick and you copy it, but no one pulls that off as well as Naruto." Forming hand signs as fast as he dared, Sasuke felt a grin dance its way onto his face. Once again, he thanked Kakashi for letting him copy this one.

"Katon, Karyu Endan!" Sasuke roared, unleashing the fire blast straight into the wall of sand as several spikes shot at him.

-

Gaara smile sadistically as he unleashed the last few spikes on his victim. It was over now. In moments, he would hear the sound of cracking bones that would signify the death of his enemy.

Then he heard the sound of glass shattering, watching almost in disbelief as the side of his sand sphere turned to glass, Sasuke smashing his way straight through it. It took several seconds for Gaara's brain to catch up with what had just happened.

"So, was that it?" Sasuke asked, seemingly not caring that a piece of glass sat upon his head, his body covered in scratches from the glass. He suddenly cocked his head to the side, letting the glass fall. "Or can we actually fight, now. Where's the Gaara that kicked my ass?" Inwardly, Sasuke winced. Maybe that was understating what had happened, but he wanted to fight Gaara at full strength. His wounds were, for the most part, healed, if only a little stiff. Still, he'd be paying for it tomorrow. He could feel his chakra protesting against him. Gaara snarled at him, forming hand signs almost faster then Sasuke could see them, a wave of sand forming behind him like a tidal wave.

'I just had to tempt him, didn't I?' Sasuke thought to himself in irritation, readying a Kiwirimi.

"Ryusa Bakuryu!" Gaara cried, the sand wave charging. Sasuke puffed out of existence, leaving a log behind to face the onslaught.

-

Bone sword clashed with bone sword, bone spike with bone spike. Naruto couldn't believe how blindingly fast his opponent was. If Kimmimaro was hindered by the same disease he was, then he certainly didn't show it, easily and elegantly dancing around Naruto's clumsy in comparison strikes. Finally, the pair clashed together hard, a pair of bone swords locked with another pair of bone swords. Naruto thought he heard something crack, to his horror. He was using weapons made of bone, for crying out loud. If his enemy could crack his weapons, then he didn't want to know what he could do to him.

"Impressive, Shikotsumyaku no Uzumaki Naruto." Kimmimaro noted, violently forcing Naruto away. Naruto let the bone weapons crumble, skidding along the ground as he pointed his fingertips at Kimmimaro.

"Teshi Sendan!" He cried, only for Kimmimaro to flicker out of the way, the bone bullets all missing by more then he'd like to admit. Kimmimaro was fast. Far faster then Naruto.

-

"Hinata, get back!" Kiba roared, leaping into the fray as several Oto-nin arrived on the scene of the hospital. It was a terrible scene, Genin, Chunin, Jounin, civilian, they all were present, some alive and fighting, others on the ground, dead or dying. Not for the last time, Hinata was thankful the Hanabi was inside the hospital. Leaping backwards, she narrowly avoided being in the way of a pair of Gatsuuga's, as Kiba and his sister came tearing through the battlefield with their canine companions.

"Ano, Kurenai-sensei, we can't hold out." Hinata cried out to her teacher, launching a Jyuuken assault on a ninja attempting to sneak up on her. Kurenai shook her head.

"There's nowhere to fall back to, Hinata. If the hospital falls, then we fall with it!" She replied. Hinata flinched as two Suna-nin suddenly lunged forward, covered in explosive tags. Suicide bombers.

"Perhaps I can help." Hinata's breath caught in her throat as a hand patted her shoulder, a man in the red cloud rimmed robes of Akatsuki walking right by her.

"Yahiko-san." She whispered. Yahiko winked at her, a small smile on his face.

"You're good with names, Hyuuga Hinata. That is comforting. Now, to defeat these warmongers." Yahiko formed the ram seal, and Hinata could feel the insane amount of chakra just beneath his skin, even without looking at him. It was far beyond that of the five Kage's, possibly beyond all five combined.

"Hinata, get back!" Kurenai cried, about to lunge to the defence of her student, but froze in utters shock at what happened next.

"Ninjutsu Ougi, Ame no Katsu Moya!" He called out to the world. The skies darkened and clouded over, as the pitter-patter of rain began to ring out, droplets of liquid falling from the sky. The whole battlefield was still, staring at the one ninja who caused the phenomena in shock. Yahiko formed several more signs in the space of a few microseconds, ending on the bird.

"Ninjutsu Ougi, Katsu Ameryu Tatsu!" He cried. The rain droplets began to form together around him, creating a large dragon made of rain. Letting out a roar, the dragon lunged forward, smashing through several enemy ninja even as seven more began to form. The eight dragons took to the battlefield with tooth and claw, decimating the enemy in seconds. Throughout it all, Hinata, Kiba and Kurenai just gazed at Yahiko in shock.

He was truly deserving of the title Rikudo Sennin.

-

Gaara was a very powerful ninja. That much Sasuke was sure of. However, he did have one weakness. He wasn't fast.

Time to use that to Sasuke's advantage. With two buildings between him and the still searching Gaara, he was sure he could charge up the Chidori and strike him before Gaara noticed. Quickly flying through the hand signs, Sasuke let out a deep breath, feeling the lightning form in his hand. Precious seconds passed, but Gaara was yet to notice him.

It was ready.

Sasuke shot off like a bullet, speeding down the street and straight at Gaara, who only now had noticed the bright ball of lightning streaking across the street at him. It was too late for the sand armour to completely protect him, barely forming two inches in front of him.

The Chidori struck home and hard, slicing into Gaara's chest like a hot knife through butter. Gaara was lucky that it had only managed to penetrate an inch before the sand had caught Sasuke. Hurling the Konoha-nin aside, he held a hand up to his chest, blood pooling under his body.

"Mother?" He asked, as the whispering in his head stopped. With nothing left to give, he passed out from blood loss. Sasuke let out a relieved sigh, sitting down against a blasted out wall.

He didn't notice the sand pooling around Gaara until it was too late.

-

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hiruzen cried, as one shuriken became thousands. Orochimaru was unconcerned, replacing himself with a tile on the next roof over to avoid the swarm. Dodging a sudden swipe of the Tsuchikage's staff, Orochimaru thrust his hand into the aged Kage's sternum, a smirk on his face.

"Sen'enjaishu!" He cried, the swarm of snakes blasting the Tsuchikage away, biting at his body as he crashed into the roof behind Hiruzen. "This is pointless, sensei. How about we make this more interesting." Hiruzen frowned at the implications of those words.

"Don't test your luck, Orochimaru." He growled, his hands snapping into hand signs. Orochimaru launched into his own sequence, both finishing as one.

"Katon, Karyu Endan!"

"Suiton, Moutsudan!" A blast of fire and water launched from each mans mouth, colliding in midair and unleashing a torrent of steam.

-

"FINALLY, I'M FREE!" Sasuke froze at the maniacal voice, almost not wanting to look. He did, though, however unwillingly.

Gaara's body had gathered sand around it, morphing several of his features into that of a giant racoon. His right arm was a large claw of sand, the right side of his face morphed and distinctly of a tanuki. His left leg was a gnarled limb, and a large, bushy tail of sand swished angrily behind him

"What the hell are you?" Sasuke growled, crouching low to avoid a blast of sand. Gaara grinned maniacally.

"I'M SHUKAKU, THE ICHIBI! AND YOU, MY PET, ARE DEAD MEAT!" He laughed, lunging forward with a speed he simply shouldn't have had. Sasuke barely had time to jump to avoid the swing of Gaara's claw.

'Damn it. I don't have much chakra left.' Sasuke thought, desperately looking for a quick win. 'I'm dead, now.'

"FUUTON, RENKUDAN!" Gaara screamed, smashing his left hand into his stomach and sending a blast of air at Sasuke. Closing his eyes, Sasuke silently waited, readying his chakra. If he was going to die, then he was going to go out in a blaze of glory, literally.

"Katon, Goenka no Jutsu!" Sasuke's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice, just in time to catch the straw hat spinning in his direction, watching the blazing inferno between the two battling Jutsu with a curious sort of horror. Standing in front of him was the one man Sasuke hated beyond any and all other.

"What's wrong, Otouto?" Itachi asked curiously, as the combined Jutsu exploded before them. "This battle isn't over yet." Sasuke's Sharingan spun back into existence as he stared at his older brother, the man that ruined his life. Blinking in disbelief, the third and final tomoe slid into its place in his eyes.

"Itachi..." Sasuke whispered. Itachi smiled back at him, Sharingan eyes locking with each other. A silent message passed between them.

Gaara first. Their business could wait till after.

Getting back to his feet, Sasuke calmed his chakra down forcefully, catching the soldier pill Itachi tossed his way and popping it into his mouth. He was _really_ going to pay for this for the next week.

"SWEET! MORE FOR ME TO KILL!" Gaara cackled gleefully. Itachi glanced at his little brother, the pair sporting identical grins.

"He talks too much, doesn't he?" Sasuke stated. Itachi shrugged.

"I would say his ego needs to be cut down to size." He replied. Gaara snorted, sending a buffet of sand at the pair. Neither was there when it struck, having already leapt away.

-

Yahiko frowned as he found the pyramid of darkness that Orochimaru had no doubt engaged the Kage's within. Taking in a deep breath, he began forming hand signs, preparing to completely unravel the Jutsu on its casters.

-

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!" Orochimaru cried, as three coffins rose from the ground, bearing one, two and four upon their bodies. Hiruzen's heart almost broke, as all four Hokage were suddenly in the same place, at the same time.

"Hey, old man, relax." Minato stated wryly, his hands in the famous white coat of his, red flames around his shins. His blond hair swayed in the wind, as a sad smile graced his face. Orochimaru hurriedly threw three kunai at the resurrected Hokage's.

Then the dark pyramid shattered into nothing.

"Shinra Tensei!" Yahiko roared, repelling the kunai intended for Minato as the other two struck. The Tsuchikage nearly died of a heart attack as he caught sight of Yahiko's eyes, his body wounded and bloody.

"You know, I think its time we all got serious, eh, Hiruzen?" The Tsuchikage growled. "I'll take the Nidaime."

"I'll defeat the Shodaime." Hiruzen spoke up. "My style counters his best. Minato-kun, can you please fix my mistake."

"I will." Minato replied. "How's Naruto?"  
"You wouldn't recognise him now, Namikaze Minato." Yahiko spoke up. "He's all grown up." The Rikudo Sennin and the Yondaime shared a short glance, before charging at Orochimaru, the Yondaime forming a bright blue orb in his hand.

"Rasengan!"

-

Sasuke didn't flinch as a storm of sand shuriken flew down the street; leaping from building to building as he hurled whatever shinobi weaponry he had left back at Shukaku. Kunai, shuriken, it didn't matter to him. So long as it was sharp and dangerous, it would do.

"Aniki, I hope you have a plan." Sasuke called out, narrowly dodging a 'Fuuton: Renkudon' that flew past his body, bringing down a shopping stand behind him in a hailstorm of splinters. Itachi snorted, coming to a halt on a building three stories higher then Sasuke's.

"Katon: Goenka no Jutsu!" He cried, spitting out a giant fireball at Shukaku. "Gaara's the key. If we can wake him up, the demon will return to its sleep."

"Fine plan." Sasuke retorted. "Except you forgot to mention the literal hell between us and Gaara." The brothers glanced at each other, before splitting into identical grins.

"This should be fun." Itachi replied, leaping into the air to dodge Shukaku's claws. Sasuke didn't reply, leaping onto the claw and bracing his arm, lightning crackling in his palm.

"You know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Sasuke muttered, charging forward in a streak of light. "Chidori!" Shukaku barely managed to raise the sand wall around Gaara in time to block the charging Chunin, a scowl etching itself on Sasuke's face.

"Fly!" Itachi cried. Sasuke spared no time in separating himself from the sand beast, his body flying straight past the Uchiha traitor. Itachi closed his left eye, as the right spun in its little kaleidoscope circle.

"No time like the present, Aniki!" Sasuke cried, hurling the few shuriken he had left at the sand beast. Itachi didn't respond to his brother, his mouth forming a single word.

"Amaterasu." He whispered. Shukaku's eyes shot wide, as it hastily hid Gaara from view.

A moment later, the Shukaku's left arm fell to the ground, useless, as black flames exploded from the beasts shoulder, devouring the sand and destroying it. Shukaku let out a scream of anger, devouring as much air as possible.

"NOW YOU DIE! FUUTON: RENKUDON!" He screamed, his right arm smashing into his stomach, a blast of compressed air spewing from his mouth. Itachi chuckled to himself as it approached, not budging an inch.

"Chidori!" Sasuke cried, flying past Itachi and puncturing straight through the air bullet, blowing it up in midair. Itachi smiled to himself as he flickered out of existence, appearing before Sasuke and grabbing his right hand.

"Go." He whispered, before spinning and hurling Sasuke at Gaara. Shukaku saw him coming, raising the sand wall around his host.

'If the Chidori can't get you…' Sasuke thought, reaching into his mind a grasping at the small piece of him that held the curse mark. 'Then I'll use the new one.'

Tomorrow simply couldn't come fast enough.

-

"Teshi Sendan!" Naruto and Kimmimaro cried as one, the pair dancing around each other, flipping between falling debris and building walls as they battled their way up the Hokage tower, narrowly avoiding the veritable bone storm that the other was attempting to kill them with. Slowly, but surely, they were making their way to the top.

'There!' Naruto thought to himself, flipping over the top of the tower and landing on the rooftop, collapsing to one knee. 'Damn it, only fifty seconds left.' Glancing to the edge of the roof, his heart sank as Kimmimaro flipped over the top, barely out of breath.

"Impressive, Shikotsumyaku no Uzumaki Naruto, but our feud ends here." Kimmimaro stated, slowly and deliberately making his way to Naruto, the teen coughing up blood from his lungs.

'Shit. Time to go wild.' He thought, spinning around and unleashing a blast of bullets. Kimmimaro ignored them, flickering away.

"However, I will have pity on you, and show you one of our most powerful techniques before you die." Kimmimaro stated from behind Naruto, drawing twin bone swords as he charged. "Genji no Mai!" With a cry, he slashed straight through Naruto, slamming the bone swords into the ground right before bones sprouted from his body, turning him into a living-spinning top as he spun, slicing into Naruto's body like a knife through butter. Banishing the bones and crumbling them to dust, Kimmimaro grabbed Naruto's foot as he spun one more time, hurling him into the air as he fired off round after round of bone bullets, until he was finally satisfied Naruto was almost certainly dead. Then, just to be sure, he leapt above Naruto motionless body and blasted several spears of bone out of his back, sending the injured Chunin straight down to ground level. Landing absently on the Hokage's tower, Kimmimaro sighed.

"He is certainly dead now." He muttered to himself.

-

"Chidori LAMENT!" Sasuke screamed as grey lightning flew from his hand, enveloping him and Shukaku's entire head in its field of destruction as the sound of a thousand flapping birds rung out for everyone to hear. Sasuke let out a scream of agony as lightning ripped through him, opening angry burns and bleeding wounds. His only consolation was Gaara's own screams of agony, as the lightning not only woke him up, but also dealt unspeakable agony upon him. Finally, the field began to thin and condense…

Itachi could only watch in an interested form of horror as the lightning field exploded, sending both Gaara and Sasuke flying through the air. Without a thought, he flickered away, catching his brother in midair.

"Oh Amaterasu…" He whispered softly, staring at Sasuke's burned body. He didn't waste another thought, flickering away towards the hospital.

-

"Namikaze Minato, duck." Yahiko cried, raising a hand as a fuuma shuriken flew over the Yondaime's head. "Shinra Tensei!" Thus, the shuriken reversed its direction, flying at Orochimaru. The hebi-sennin frowned, as he flickered out of existence, Kusanagi no Tsurugi in hand.

"Die!" He snarled, stabbing at Yahiko's unprotected back. Yahiko simply dissolved into water on contact, reappearing directly behind the Sennin with a black chakra blade in hand.

"No, you die." He retorted, stabbing the snake. Orochimaru poofed out of existence, only for his body to be hurled over Yahiko's head by Minato. Minato glanced at Yahiko and his fellow Kage's, before sighing softly to himself.

"This isn't going well, is it?" He muttered, as a decapitated Shodaime and armless Nidaime regenerated their arms and head. "Only one way to win."

"Minato…" The Sandaime spoke up, but Minato shook his head.

"Naruto-kun still needs you, Hiruzen." Minato replied to the unasked question. "Just cover me." The Yondaime then started up the one hundred and ninety six seal sequence that could end in only one way. The Shiki Fuin.

Jutsu Glossary

-

Doton, Iwa no O-Tate, Kakomu (Earth Style, Great Shield of Earth, Encompass… I think)

A-rank Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres

The user surrounds himself and his allies in a 5-metre radius sphere of Earth. This Earth is almost impenetrable, being made from the strongest minerals in the ground at the time.

Basis: Suna no Tate.

-

Katon, Karyu no Rin (Fire Style, Ring of the Fire Dragon)

S-rank Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres

The user breathes out a fire dragon that coils around the user, before blasting forth in a shockwave. The fires of this dragon are white hot, and burn through most materials.

Basis: This is an upgrade to Katon, Karyu Endan. The Sandaime isn't called the professor for nothing.

-

Suna Kasui Jigoku (Sand Spike Hell)

Unknown, 0-5 metres

An addition to the Suna no Tate, the Suna Kasui Jigoku causes the Suna no Tate to develop spikes of sand that impale any close enough to be struck by it.

Basis: As Sasuke said, Gaara copied this from Naruto's Karamatsu no Mai.

-

Ninjutsu Ougi, Ame no Katsu Moya (Ninja Art Secret, Split Haze of Rain)

Unknown, 0-1,000 Km

This Jutsu causes the sky to haze over and rain dark and poisonous waters. Any who ingest the water when it is infused with the users chakra, suffer horrific burns from the rains acidic qualities.

Basis: Nagato's rain technique, obviously. This one is the mass combat version.

-

Ninjutsu Ougi, Katsu Ameryu Tatsu (Ninja Art Secret, Split Rain Dragon Sever… roughly)

Unknown

The actual qualities of the Ninjutsu are unknown. It appears to summon rain dragons to destroy the users enemies. However, the name of this Jutsu would suggest something else…

Basis: Suiryudan, anyone?

-

Katon, Goenka no Jutsu

A-rank Ninjutsu, 5-35 metres

Created by Uchiha Itachi, the user inhales a breath of air before blasting a large fireball at a target. This fireball explodes on contact with _anything_, and is hazardous to the user at close range.

-

Genji no Mai (Dance of the Genji)

Kekkai Genkai, 0-5 metres

A masterful blend of the Karamatsu no Mai, Tsubaki no Mai, Teshi Sendan and Sawarabi no Mai, almost certainly ending in the targets death.

-

**Sorry for the long wait. I've been bogged down in schoolwork for the last four months. I think it shows in this chapter, too, as its a little shorter then normal. Next chapter, the story starts in earnest, as I get to finally say get lost to the majority of the storyline. Seriously, what was Kishimoto thinking when he came up with the Jyuubi?**

**I found the latest chapter of the manga highly amusing. It's probably worth stating that I'm somewhat a NaruHina diehard, but everyone's entitled to his or her opinions. Read, review, and then… do whatever you people do between my updates.**

**P.S. Shouldn't take too long for the next chapter. Again, I'm really sorry for the huge wait. It's just been exam after exam after assignment over here. I've actually read ahead on my maths to get the time to finish this, and it cost me quite a bit of sleep. I promise the next chapter will be soon.**


	8. The Pain of Defeat

_Aftermath…_

_Hinata: Naruto-kun?_

_Kakashi: Where the hell is he? Team 7 find Naruto now!

* * *

_

Chapter 8,

The Pain of Defeat

-

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out, running over the bodies of hundreds of dead Oto-nin as she rushed to reach her teacher. The scarecrow glanced at his student weakly as he stood up, using a chokuto as a crutch. Sakura didn't question where the pure white sword had come from, slipping under her teacher's left arm and supporting him.

"Sakura, where's Sasuke and Naruto?" Kakashi asked, the chokuto vanishing in a poof. Placing his hitae-ate over his eye once more, Kakashi allowed his student to lead him, the pair dodging the dead bodies littering the ground. It was almost sad to see the horrified determination in Sakura's eyes, as she continually steeled herself against the horrific sight.

"Sasuke-kun is in hospital with severe chakra burns and chakra depletion. Naruto hasn't been seen since the finals." Sakura replied sorrowfully. Kakashi's eye hardened, but he said nothing.

'Naruto… stay safe.' He thought, ignoring the pit of despair within him.

-

"Hokage-sama!" Hiruzen let a weary smile grace his face as he limped out of the Hokage's box in the Chunin exam stadium, the Tsuchikage in tow. Both aged men could see the destruction that had occurred, and neither particularly wanted to be the first to examine it. Glancing back into the box, Hiruzen was surprised to find the Yahiko was already gone.

"Looks like those Suna and Oto bastards did a number on your village, Hiruzen." The Tsuchikage stated gruffly. "I have to admit, it was ingenious using the Chunin Exams as a cover."

"It also broke just about every international treaty in the land." Hiruzen retorted darkly, curbing in his anger at seeing his village, his prized jewel, in such a state. "This means war."

"I know. Iwa has your back, Hiruzen." The Tsuchikage sighed, sitting down by a piece of rubble as the ANBU scurried to form a guard for the pair.

"I have to admit, without your help, I think I would have used the Shiki Fuin myself." The Hokage stated, grinning slightly. The Tsuchikage sent a grin right on back.  
"We'll have to thank this… 'Yahiko' the next time we see him. That cloak seems eerily familiar."

-

"Hinata-chan, wait up!" Kiba cried, running through the streets with a kunai in hand. "Kurenai-sensei wants you to search for survivors with your Byakugan." Hinata nodded at the weakened boy, forming the _ram_ almost absently.

"Byakugan!" She cried. The sight that greeted her newly enhanced vision nearly made her throw up. Bodies littered the street, and blood and gore was sprayed across the walls and ground.

"Hinata!" Kiba cried, as the girl slumped against a wall, breathing hard and turning her Byakugan off. "Are you…?"

"So many dead." She whispered. "Even children…" The pair stayed there, silent, for a long time.

-

The next few days were incredibly hard on the Konoha Genin. Lee had been forced to fight in the invasion, regardless of his injuries, due to a surprise attack on the hospitals children's ward, and was now in intensive care. Tenten was found bloody and unconscious in the middle of a bloody field of dead enemies, but was released from hospital the next day, after it was found that very little of the blood had been her own. Neji, on the other hand, had been in the thick of the battle in front of the ninja academy, fighting to protect the children and ninja's in training that had no idea what was happening. Nonetheless, he suffered minimal injuries.

Shino was uninjured, although he had been recalled to his clans compound to help repair the damages. Shikamaru was fresh out of hospital, having suffered a broken arm during the invasion. Ino and Sakura were relatively unharmed, although they were very disturbed at the battle that had taken place, and Choji simply continued to munch on his chips, despite three broken ribs and a broken ankle from Baika no Jutsu over-expansion.

Kiba and Hinata had made it out of the battle uninjured, but exhausted, both helping with the rebuilding effort. Sasuke was still in a coma, having completely exhausted his chakra. He was stable, however, and expected to leave the hospital in a week.

Yet no one had seen hide or hair of one Uzumaki Naruto. It was a week later that an official mission had been issued to locate Naruto's corpse for the mass burial service.

-

"Hinata-san…" Shikamaru spoke up, holding up a small block of rubble whilst the teenage girl pulled the fallen corpse out from beneath it. "You must stop thinking about him. He's gone."

"I won't give up." She bit back sharply. "Not when he never gave up on me. I was a hopeless teacher, but he never gave up on me, and I won't give up on him!"

"Hinata-san, this attitude of yours is self destructive and painful…" Shikamaru started, but Hinata cut him off with a wave of her hand, shouldering the dead body.

"No more, Shikamaru-san. No more." With that, she walked off, dumping the body at a mobile morgue to be identified.

-

Such was Hinata's attitude towards the announced death of Uzumaki Naruto, the newest Chunin of Konoha. The mass burial was held the following week, without Naruto's body ever being found. Now, however, 3 weeks later, Hinata received a very strange letter…

-

_Hinata-san_

_You may not recognise my writing or name, but I know you, if only by proxy. My name is a secret, but I am known by the alias of Pain._

_This letter is not a social one. I have heard from one of my many associates that Konoha is currently searching for the corpse of one Shikotsumyaku no Naruto. I believe I can be of service to you in this aspect._

_Contained herein is a C-ranked mission to the land of Ame. Please show it to your Hokage. Contained within the mission scroll is authorisation for one Hyuuga Hinata and any two other associates to enter Amegakure no Sato. I hope that you accept this mission, and have a safe trip._

_Pain_

_P.S. One of my associates would appreciate it if your partner for this mission were one Uchiha Sasuke. I must admit, I know not why, but I would appreciate the thought._

_-_

"Hmmm…" The Hokage sighed, examining the scroll in his hands. He could feel the unease of the girl before him, fidgeting slightly at every scan of a line the Hokage made.

"Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked tentatively, stiffening as the Hokage stopped moving. With another sigh, he looked up from the scroll, a frown on his face.

"Tell me, Hinata, do you know the implications of this scroll?" Hiruzen asked, a frown on his face. Seeing the girl shake her head, the aged Hokage continued. "When a nation claims to have information on a missing shinobi of another nation, they are obliged by the Third Treaty to acknowledge that said shinobi is safe and would be returned to his sovereign nation, provided the two nations are not at war. Amegakure has implied that they know exactly where Naruto-kun is, but have made no effort to give us this information."

"I don't understand." Hinata admitted. Hiruzen sighed, looking all eighty-two of his years.

"Wars have been started over such incidents, Hinata. The fact that this scroll specifically asks for you only aggravates the situation. I must think of the good of Konoha, not just its citizens. Sending you on this mission is tantamount to committing an act of war on the Land of Steel. Amegakure has long since been forbidden from interference in ninja matters. This mission is the equivalent to a declaration that we recognise Ame as a ninja nation, a violation of the Fifth Treaty." The Sandaime explained. Hinata frowned.

"But, what about…" She started. Hiruzen shook his head.

"Hinata, I cannot give you this mission as the Hokage of Konoha." He stated, placing a note in her hand. "Good day." Hinata nodded, giving a curt bow and walking out the door, her heart in her shoes. Opening the note, her face contorted into a relieved smile.

_This is a black-ops operation. Take Uchiha Sasuke and make your way to Tanzaku Town. Your contact will meet you there._

_Mission Code 698-7621-A34-B991_

_Burn this note after the cooperation of Uchiha Sasuke has been obtained. You will lead in matters of travel. Uchiha Sasuke will lead in matters of combat and ninja special ops._

-

"Excuse, me, is Uchiha Sasuke here?" Hinata asked softly, watching Kakashi drill a group of Genin. Said Jounin barely turned to regard her as he shouted off criticism to the Genin, his regular orange book nowhere in sight. Hinata's eyes locked with that of Kakashi's for several moments, before absently catching a misaimed shuriken between his thumb and index finger without turning his head.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Kakashi echoed. "I've heard a lot about you, Hyuuga Hinata."

"Gomen, but I have a mission for Sasuke-san." Hinata stated, her voice wavering under the scarecrow's scrutinizing gaze. Kakashi continued to stare, before nodding.

"He is in Training Ground 7, by the memorial stone. Hold your head high." Kakashi whispered, lifting Hinata's chin with a hand. "He wouldn't want you to be sad."

"We won't ever know, will we?" She retorted softly. "Arigato, Kakashi-sensei."

The scarecrow could only watch the sad girl make her way to the memorial.

-

The memorial stone was little more then a large stone tablet, listing the names of every single ninja to be killed in action. _His_ name wasn't on this stone, thanks to the prejudice of the village against him. _He_ didn't even have a grave to remember him by. The injustice of it all made Sasuke question just what it meant to be a citizen of Konoha. Was he that prejudiced, too? Would he abandon the next person to be offered as the villages sacrifice as well?

He wasn't sure he wished to know the answer to that question.

Sasuke didn't even move as he heard the crunch of grass behind him, as soft footsteps made their way towards him. The person stopped barely two feet behind him, staring at either him or the stone, which he didn't know. He didn't care, either.

"We might have found his body." A soft voice whispered. Sasuke flinched, turning to face Hinata, his Sharingan activated on instinct.

"Naruto?" He questioned. Hinata nodded, handing him a note.

"We have a mission, Sasuke-san. I'll meet you at the north gate in a hour." Hinata replied, turning on her heel and walking away. Sasuke scanned through the note several times, his Sharingan fading back out of existence once he was certain the note said exactly what he thought it said. Forming a short seal, he burned the note, before making his way back home.

Why would the Hokage order a Genin and a Chunin on a black op?

-

Hinata let out a sigh as she waited at the north gate, garbed in a black sleeveless shirt and ninja slacks. Her headband was nowhere in sight, hidden away in a loose floorboard within the teens bedroom. No one could be allowed to know she was a Konoha-nin, not on this mission. She raised her head as the somewhat heavy footfalls that belonged only to a relaxed Uchiha Sasuke approached her, the teenage boy wearing a black mantle over a white sleeveless shirt and light grey ninja shorts. The pair nodded to each other once, before walking right out the gate, pausing only long enough to flash their ID at the Chunin gate guards. They had barely gone fifty metres before Hinata led Sasuke off the dirt path and into the forest, the girl easily picking her way through the thicket.

Sasuke remained silent for the next hour and a half, as Hinata worked her way through the forestland of Hi no Kuni, until finally, to Sasuke's relief, she led him to a river.

"What are the specifics of the mission?" Sasuke asked, as Hinata used her reflection in the water to place a pair of blue contact lenses in her eyes.

"Amegakure no Sato has more or less stated that they know where Naruto-kun's body is. Our objective is to obtain the body and return it to Konoha." Hinata answered softly, blinking multiple times. "We are to make our way to Tanzaku Town, where we will meet our contact. From there, I believe we will be making our way to Amegakure."

"I see." Sasuke muttered. "Well, you are the leader in matters of travel, so lead on." Hinata nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Arigato, Sasuke-san." She whispered, leading him up the river.

-

It was a long day, the pair making their way along the riverbank towards the northern border of Konoha. Neither said a word, unable to think of a way to broach the silence without it feeling awkward. It wasn't until the sun was setting against the horizon that Sasuke finally spoke up.

"We should stop here for tonight, Hinata-san." He stated softly. Hinata came to a halt before him, nodding absently.

"Your right." She admitted. "I just…"

"You wanted to get to Tanzaku as soon as possible. It's alright, Hinata-san." Sasuke finished. "I'll set up some tents." Hinata nodded again, fishing out a scroll from her pants and unsealing some cooking ware.

"I'll cook, then." She muttered to herself with a small smile.

-

The trip passed in silence for the most part. They met no one, for they stuck to the river and stayed away from the path. On the fourth day of travel, Hinata took Sasuke away from the river, leading him through the forest towards the border.

"We're almost there, Sasuke-san." She had told him softly. That was the most she had said to him that day.

It was only now that he was alone with Hinata that he was truly able to see the influence Naruto had over her. Naruto was her source of confidence and courage, the person she had chosen to love. Without Naruto, she would have neither courage nor confidence, and it showed in her every action. She couldn't hide the shivers of fear that ran through her every time she looked in a small, circular locket, which Sasuke assumed, contained a picture of Naruto. She still hoped that Naruto had continued to live, even against all odds, but Sasuke no longer allowed himself to cling to that hope.

Instead, he'd merely added Orochimaru and the bone user, Kimmimaro, to his list of people that he needed to kill. It wasn't for his own peace of mind, but for Naruto's memory.

It was now nightfall on the fifth day, and Sasuke had joined Hinata by the small campfire she had made to cook the evening meal.

"Do you think he made it?" Hinata asked suddenly. Sasuke flinched, his gaze meeting her own.

"I don't. I think that, if Naruto had made it, he would have tried to contact Konoha by now." Sasuke answered.

"What if he was unable to? What if he was injured?" Hinata pressed. Sasuke shook his head.

"Naruto was missing for two weeks before Ame declared they knew where his body was. Allowing for the four days it takes for a messenger-nin or a message bird to reach Konoha from Ame, I would gather that they had only just located and positively identified the body themselves. It's possible that Ame took Naruto with them and attempted to treat his wounds, knowing that Konoha may not have been able to, and that it took that long for Naruto to finally die." Sasuke explained, his voice remaining level. Hinata shook her head.

"I don't want to believe he's dead." She growled, fiercer then he'd ever heard her. "…But it's hard to keep hope. It's been three weeks."

"Hopefully this 'Pain' will have some answers." Sasuke replied darkly. Neither said any more then that, falling into silence as they ate their dinner.

-

Two days later the pair had arrived in Tanzaku Town, Sasuke quickly leading Hinata to a hotel. He wasn't going to risk their cover by staying at one of the ninja inns, no, Sasuke led her to a small, rundown little motel near the gambling district, driven almost to bankruptcy by the casinos.

"It won't be five stars." Sasuke stated. "But it will be adequate. We can't let anyone know you're a Hyuuga."

"Why? I'm wearing…" Hinata started, but Sasuke shushed her with a finger.

"Tanzaku Town is frequented by Kiri and Kumo Oinin. Believe it or not, this place has the greatest concentration of foreign ninja of anywhere in Hi no Kuni. We need to stay low profile." The exchange finished, Sasuke walked into the dingy place and hired a single room, stating he wasn't letting Hinata out of his sight until they had met their contact. And thus, the days passed slowly.

-

He wasn't sure how they had talked him into this, but here he was, Akatsuki mantle and all. The straw hat kept not only the sun out of his eyes, but the gazes of others from his face. Still, he wasn't a missing-nin, and Akatsuki hardly expected his loyalty over that to his village, so the agreement would work itself out.  
It really wasn't too hard to locate Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata. Even if the heiress had used contact lenses, she had neglected to change her body shape or physique. Sasuke hadn't applied any form of cosmetic changes at all, defeating the purpose of hiding in plain sight.

Then there was a creek of wood. Glancing up into a nearby building, the Akatsuki-nin saw a pair of ghouls, the Kiri form of Oinin. Letting out half a breath, he vanished from existence, leaving behind only a puddle of water.

Neither Oinin knew what had killed them, even after the fact. A pair of small, harder then steel spikes where jammed in between the third and fourth ribs, aimed upwards. There wasn't a chance in hell that he'd missed their hearts.

Not for the first time, he was thankful for the mantle. Akatsuki mantles were so useful.

-

Three days had passed, and Sasuke was getting impatient. Having finally gotten tired off the bad inn food, he had taken Hinata with him in search of a decent tavern, and find one he did.

Now there was the simple problem of the massive, white haired man sitting in the corner, grinning lecherously as he scribbled in his notebook. The man had taken only one look at Hinata, however, before pointedly looking away, although he kept stealing glances at her throughout their meal.

It didn't take long until Sasuke had enough, making his way towards the man with murder in his eyes. How dare he disrespect one of the two legacies Naruto had left upon the world! He didn't even get a word out when the man spoke up.

"Ninja code alpha triple six." He whispered pointedly. "Grab the Hyuuga girl and sit down." Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously, but he complied, retrieving Hinata, who came without complaint. Once the pair had sat down, the white haired man began speaking. "Now, as you are no doubt aware by now, I'm your contact. My name is Jiraiya, the Gama-Sennin."

"What now?" Sasuke asked pointedly. Jiraiya sighed, clasping his hands together.

"I am to escort you to Amegakure no Sato, where you will spend two days negotiating with this 'Pain' for the release of Naruto's body." He stated, handing a scroll to Hinata. "Those are the terms we are willing to offer to 'Pain' in return for Naruto's body. If you can get it for less, then please, by all means do so. I will pick you up at noon on the second day and escort you back to Konoha, with Naruto's body or without it."

"And if Naruto-kun is alive?" Hinata asked. Jiraiya frowned, pointing at a small seal on the paper.

"Have him draw blood and place it on that seal. If he's really Naruto, then the seal won't react. We can't risk Naruto returning and finding out he was really a sleeper agent." Jiraiya explained. "Any other questions."

"If we are captured?" Sasuke asked. Jiraiya chuckled.

"Then you are expected to commit kamikaze, through any viable method." He answered sadly. "I'm sorry, but the council doesn't really care for any of Naruto's friends."

"Council?" Sasuke pondered. "What do they have to…?"

"Specifically, the civilian council. As much of the Shinobi Council was killed during the invasion, we currently have a small vacuum between the previous council and the next one where the civilians hold all the power. That is why you have been given two days. In a week there will be a meeting to announce the new Shinobi Council and all amendments made without its approval can, and probably will, be repealed. The trouble is, if Naruto's body is brought back before the new council is made, he will probably be desecrated." Jiraiya explained.

"And if he is brought back alive?" Sasuke asked, dreading the answer even though he didn't expect to see the Shikotsumyaku user alive again.

"He will probably be executed." Jiraiya finished.

-

The trio left Tanzaku Town the next day, heading to the northeast. Sasuke had to admit that Jiraiya, by all means, was a genius of the Shinobi arts, but his perverted tendencies kept him from asking for any advice. He was quite amused, however, by Jiraiya's reluctance to use Hinata for his 'research', almost going out of his way to leave her alone.

It only took two days to reach Amegakure. That was when the real fun would start.

* * *

**And that is the end of that chapter. Its short by about a thousand words, but this part of the story is going to be a little (…) slow. Kudo's to anyone who can work out who the Akatsuki member was. Your only hints are that it wasn't Pain and it was someone from the show (not an OC and actually alive at this point).**

**For the record, just about any shinobi worth his salt would know of the heirs and heiresses of the major shinobi clans of a village. Thus, Sasuke and Hinata's appearance isn't exactly secret knowledge.**


	9. The City of Eternal Rain

_The Land of Eternal Rain…_

_Hinata: Ano, why is it always raining?_

_Pain: They say the land is crying for the dead. It's just the way it is.

* * *

_

Chapter 9,

Amegakure no Sato, the City of Eternal Rain

-

The wetlands surrounding Amegakure was a living nightmare to travel through. Hinata would personally attest to that. The rain was constant, sitting at an uncomfortably cold temperature that was almost at the freezing point. It wasn't just the temperature, though. The land was barren, completely bare of any plantation or foliage. No trees, no plants, nothing but cliffs and uncomfortably sharp rocks. Everything was bleak and grey, even her hand in front of her face.

Then there was the rain. Oh, god, there was the rain.

It fell in sheets, a constant barrage of wet projectiles that simply couldn't be escaped or defended against. Lightning occasionally crackled in the distance, without care or consistency.

What was worse was that, according to Jiraiya, they were still a day away from Ame.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can take this." Sasuke muttered softly, barely audible over the rain. Hinata was inclined to agree with him, but Jiraiya simply shook his head.

"Ame has always been the city of rain eternal for as long as anyone can remember. They say that the Ame civil war has scared even the very land itself, that the skies actively weep for the countless lives lost in this place." Sasuke frowned, although from the cold or from Jiraiya's statement, Hinata couldn't tell.

"The Ame civil war ended a decade ago." He grumbled softly. Jiraiya didn't answer for several moments as he carefully rounded a small cliff, testing the ground.

"The Ame civil war is always ongoing, Sasuke." Jiraiya answered. "It doesn't end, it temporarily ceases. Still, this Pain may yet make the cease permanent."

"And Naruto-kun was taken by them?" Hinata viced softly. Jiraiya nodded, leading the group off the cliff and onto the wetlands proper, a large plain with nothing but dull, grey dirt for miles in every direction.

"Apparently. Why, I have no idea." Jiraiya's reply was crisp. It was obvious he didn't want to talk anymore.

-

Finally arriving at Ame was almost a dream come true for Hinata. She couldn't wait to be finally dry again.

From what she could see on the outside of Ame, the city was less a hidden village and more of a fortress. Unlike Konoha, who's single wall was symbolic of the protection granted by the ninja, Ame was surrounded by a grey steel wall that looked to be over a hundred metres tall. The gates were massive, if still the dull grey of the rest of the city, with seven shinobi wearing black mantles with a single red cloud on the right breast standing guard. There was no doubt in her mind that they had long since seen them coming, for there was no protection in the flood plains they had travelled through.

Even stranger, though, was when a person garbed in a black mantle and a straw hat walked right past the Konoha trio, his mantle adorned with a multitude of red clouds, and, with a single look, entered the gate without a sound.

"The red clouds must be an symbol of rank here." Sasuke muttered. Jiraiya nodded.

"It seems that way. Remember, if you are captured, you are to go out with a bang. Take your time." He stated. Hinata flinched at the reminder of her orders.

"Take our time? We have two days." She replied softly. Jiraiya smiled.

"I doubt anyone will care if you go a day or two overtime. Your mission is to have obtained Naruto's body in two days, not have left Ame in two days. Always read your orders for loopholes, Hyuuga-san, especially when your superiors are out to kill you. Do you have the letter?" Hinata nodded, withdrawing the scroll, which, unsurprisingly, was waterproof. "Good. I'll be back in two days." With that, Jiraiya turned and walked back out towards the flood plains, not once looking back.

"Well, I suppose this is it." Sasuke said softly, eyeing Hinata with a single eye, the other trained on Ame's gate. "Shall we?"

"Hai." Hinata replied shortly, walking towards the gate with confidence she didn't really feel. The shinobi seemed unconcerned with her approach, ignoring the soaked teens in favour of the flood plain.

"Go right on in." One stated before Hinata could even open her mouth. "Pain-sama is expecting you." Hinata could only nod dumbly as a shinobi opened the gate by several degrees, creating a gap large enough to fit two Chouji's in at once, let alone Hinata's petite form. Sasuke took the lead, his Sharingan whirling into existence as he walked through the gap. Steeling herself, Hinata followed at a sedate pace.

Ame was nothing like what she expected.

Grey skyscrapers that rose almost as high as the wall that encased them were packed tightly together, as far as the eye could see. Grey arcs extended from every skyscraper at varying heights, some connecting buildings, others offering vantage points over any attackers. Shinobi litters the upper city and its arcs, going about their business separately from the civilians below. There was no cover from the rain, for everyone quickly stole from one building to the next, rarely ever staying in the rain for more then a few moments. It was all surreal, beyond even her wildest imagination. It was alien.

-

While Hinata was shocked at the differences between Konoha and Ame, Sasuke was shocked by how alike they were. He could see the civilians in the streets giving pause to help their fellows, regardless of familiarity. He could see the ninja giving pointers to their younger counterparts, the older generation guiding the younger. He could see the same kindness, same generosity that had made Konoha so peaceful.

But he couldn't see the ugly underside that had been so clearly visible in Konoha. There was no shadow giving away a rookie Ne agent, he couldn't see the obvious bias towards the upper class, no fear of shinobi, particularly of certain individuals. Everything was everyday here, the idea of not helping your neighbour as foreign as the clear sky was here. Ame was so… improbable, a perfect village that seemed like a faraway dream.

"It's nowhere near as perfect as it looks." A soft, female voice said from behind the pair. Both Sasuke and Hinata spun, entering combat stances, but the speaker merely raised both hands in the universal gesture of peace. Just like the man they had seen walking into Ame, she wore a black mantle adorned with clouds, a straw hat atop her head. Unlike the man, though, several strands of blue hair were clearly visible, a stark contrast to the grey that seemed to infect everything else.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, his stance not relaxing an inch. The women simply giggled, walking straight past the Chunin and Genin.

"Pain is expecting you. Please follow me." She stated, walking down the street. Hinata and Sasuke glanced at each other, before following her without a word.

-

"My name is Konan." The women said as they walked. "Welcome to Amegakure no Sato."

"You said this place isn't as perfect as it looks." Sasuke retorted. "What did you mean?"

"My, you don't waste time, do you?" Konan replied with a small giggle. "Amegakure no Sato was built upon the suffering of the people. A decade of peace is not enough to break the curse that still haunts it to this day."

"Curse?" Hinata spoke up, as the trio dodged through a small crowd of merchants. Konan nodded visibly.

"Indeed. Look around you, child. The grey, the rain, the seething pain beneath everyone's exteriors. A decade of peace does not make up for centuries of war. Still, we fight on, hoping for the day when we are free from the curse of the rain." Konan explained, her voice melancholy and oddly depressed. "Some of the greatest heroes and greatest monsters of shinobi history have, at one point, learned the ways of rain. Your Yondaime Hokage received a portion of his instruction here under Jiraiya, who in turn was taught by one Ame-Sennin during one of his many trips from Konoha. Uchiha Madara is said to have learned the ways of the ninja in these very flood plains, and Pain… suffered his greatest tragedy here."

"What of Orocimaru?" Sasuke asked. Konan giggled again.

"I'm afraid he's one hundred percent Konoha made. Be thankful for that, for if he had been trained in the ways of rain, he'd be many times more deadly." She replied. Sasuke snorted.

"He's dead." He replied. Konan shook her head.

"Far from it. Orochimaru is an eldritch abomination. The Yondaime was already devoured by the Shinigami, so what makes you think the Shinigami would accept his soul in payment for another death?" Konan asked ruefully. "No, the Yondaime only separated Orochimaru from his body. It will not be long before Orochimaru is back. He is, after all, almost immortal."

"Then how can he be killed?" Hinata asked. "If he can survive the Shiki Fuuin, a S-rank Jutsu, what chance do other shinobi have?"

"Orochimaru is immortal, not invincible." Konan stated. "But I have said enough. Orochimaru is not your concern to deal with, Hyuuga-san. We're here." Konan suddenly stopped before a large mass of arcs, forming a building that was far taller then any Hinata had ever seen, the Hokage tower included. "Only shinobi are permitted to enter the spire, not that civilians could move about it, anyway. Certain applications of chakra are needed to move about."

"Chakra? Wall walking?" Hinata asked. Konan nodded, entering the building.

"Indeed."

-

The interior of the mass of arcs was as strange as the outside. The bottom floor was a circular room, the walls lined with water. To go anywhere within the building, chakra control was obviously needed. The nearest door was almost twenty metres up a wall. Konan paid none of the shinobi that ran about their business any heed, walking straight over the water and up the wall at a rather casual pace. Sasuke and Hinata followed her, albeit at a short distance.

"Amegakure has known war for so long that the very architecture of the city has changed to accommodate it. The arcs and bridges between buildings are designed for shinobi use, either as vantage points or supply routes. Buildings are designed so that all the cover is on the higher floors, and the larger buildings contain several mazes that are designed to decimate opposing forces. Confusion and misdirection are tools that the way of rain has long since mastered. Ame-nin are dependent on the use of misdirection in our own city because of the conflict in ideals that constantly occurs around us. We all want peace. At every Ame citizen's heart is a dream of peace. The problem is, we have different methods of obtaining and keeping that peace." Konan explained softly.

"A conflict of ideals." Sasuke muttered. Konan nodded.

"That's right. We have no council, only a single leader. This stops other ideals from polluting the village. Ame is a small city in the middle of no-mans land. We have no Daimyo, we aren't recognized as a legitimate shinobi village, and we have no farmland. We have to make a living somehow. We can't afford to wage a war of ideals while our people starve. It's a sad state of affairs, but we make the best of it."

"You seem well off." Hinata said. "No poverty, or homeless…"

"We don't have individual ownership of property here. All living area is provided in dorms. Not ideal, but better then having countless homeless. Much of Ame's business is taxed away to feed the city. Profits are small, and our ninja bring in the majority of money, despite keeping very little of the profit."

"Then why does no one just leave?" Sasuke asked. Konan smiled, although neither saw it.

"Many do." She answered. "Those of us that are left try our hardest to be recognized as a shinobi nation. If we could just gain the support of a nearby Daimyo, we would solve all our problems. Unfortunately, the nearby lands are either incapable of supporting a shinobi village or already possess their own." Konan stepped straight over a ledge and into a doorway, turning around and helping the two Konoha-nin up. "Go right on in, Pain-sama is expecting you." With that, she vanished in a puff of smoke. Hinata glanced at Sasuke, before opening the door and walking in. Sasuke followed, barely five steps behind.

-

Hinata was surprised at the sight she saw within. Six men, all of varying statures and builds, sat in an array of desks by the wall, signing paperwork or performing a mass of other mundane things that the Hokage was expected to do. Only one man was not at a desk, instead looking out a window, his hair black and shaggy. All seven were garbed in the black mantle with red clouds, the other six all sporting orange hair. Hinata's breath caught in her throat when she recognized one of the six deskmen.

"Yahiko." She whispered.

"Actually, we generally refer to him as Deva." The black haired man spoke up softly, not looking away from his window. "Yahiko was the name of that body when it still lived."

"Who are you?" Sasuke growled, drawing a kunai. The man glanced over at them, his hair covering his left eye as he grinned lopsidedly at them. In the other eye were six concentric grey circles. His mouth was a straight line, barely upturned, but his single revealed eye spoke of amusement.

"My name… I am Pain." He stated. "More then that, this particular me is called Nagato."

"Gomen, I don't understand." Hinata muttered, her eyes flickering from one man to another. Nagato shook his head softly.

"Don't even try to understand. Even I don't understand the exacts of the technique. Just know that I, along with every other man in this room, am collectively known as Pain." His words did little to ease the confusion the teens felt, but they accepted it. "I believe you are here to discuss Uzumaki Naruto." Nagato continued, returning to his window.

"We are prepared to offer certain con…" Hinata began, something that sounded awfully like a rehearsed speech. Nagato waved a hand absently.

"We don't have him anymore." He stated. Hinata flinched.

"Excuse me?" She asked softly. Nagato turned to face the pair, both eyes covered by his hair.

"I didn't stutter. We don't have Naruto anymore. Naruto wasn't one of our shinobi to begin with, so we didn't stop his departure…" Nagato trailed off as the door opened once more, another robed figure entering.

"So they are already here." A male voice muttered, strangely familiar to Hinata. "I was expecting to get here first."

"So you came back. Have you considered our offer?" Nagato replied, cutting both Hinata and Sasuke out of the conversation. The figure cocked his head to the side for several moments.

"Sorry, I need to talk to my kage before I give an answer." He finally said. "This choice is too big, affects too many other people."

"You joined Akatsuki without a second thought." Nagato countered. Hinata could feel the amusement coming from the newcomer.

"Only so long as my loyalties aren't divided. Besides, I think Konoha is starting to miss me." With that, the robed shinobi turned around. "I'll take them to their accommodations. Don't bother sending for a guide."

"As you wish." Nagato replied. "Stay safe."

"You too, Nagato-san." The robed one stated. "Come with me." Hinata and Sasuke glanced at each other, before reluctantly following. They couldn't help but feel like they were being led around by their noses.

-

"Sorry for that. You must feel terribly lost." The Akatsuki member stated as he led the Konoha-nin even higher up the spire. Sasuke, however, wasn't going to play along.

"We were trying to…" He started, but the Akatsuki member cut them off.

"Uzumaki Naruto will join you soon. He's currently busy." The Akatsuki member retorted, amusement obvious in his voice. Hinata sighed.

"Naruto-kun, that's enough." She stated. The Akatsuki member sighed, removing the straw hat to reveal a shaggy man of white hair.

"What gave me away?" He asked. Hinata smiled softly.

"Your talk of loyalties to Nagato-sama. Why would a Ame-nin be divided on loyalties, when the only ninja with loyalties to Konoha in Ame is Naruto-kun." Hinata explained. Sasuke frowned.

"How did I miss that?" He wondered aloud. Naruto chuckled.

"You didn't miss it. You just didn't look underneath the underneath. Every word in a conversation has a meaning. A ninja must extract the meaning from each word, then look for what wasn't said." Naruto replied, clambering over a ledge. "Come on, the rain's lightened up. I don't want to be out there when it gets heavy again." With that, he secured his hat and walked straight out of the tower, and onto the bridge outside.

-

The scenery of Ame took a very different light upon the bridges and arcs that lay several dozen metres above the ground. Hinata could see almost everything for at least several kilometres with ease, as if the rain meant nothing in impairing visibility. Naruto glanced back at her, a small smile on his barely visible face.

"It's much nicer from up here, isn't it?" He asked, as Sasuke walked past her, admiring the view almost as much as she did. "Ame has seen so many wars that combat in the rain is second nature to them. The dreariness of the ground is actually carefully made to make it difficult to distinguish shinobi weapons from the background. It makes it harder to invade without getting murdered in a storm of weapons you can't see."

"You're more knowledgeable then you used to be." Sasuke noted. Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I had a week were I did nothing but read while I was recovering from my bout with Kimmimaro. You'd be amazed what information Ame has on other villages." Naruto explained. "Anyway, I read up mostly on Ame's history…"

"What's Akatsuki?" Hinata asked. Naruto sighed, leading the way across a bridge.

"Akatsuki is a ninja organization dedicated to world peace." He stated softly. "It's primarily made up of S-ranked missing nin, although some members are as low as B-rank. There are 10 main members and god knows how many associates spread throughout the lands." Naruto trailed off as he leapt down onto an arc, before leaping up onto another bridge, Hinata and Sasuke following him effortlessly. Leading them into a building, Naruto walked down the hall, before going up a stairwell.

"Naruto-kun, what did you find out after the Preliminaries?" Hinata asked softly. Naruto stopped.

"That I'm dying." He replied. "I take it that you need to check for disguises."

"Hai." Sasuke replied, withdrawing a scroll. "Some blood on this scroll." Naruto shook his head.

"I can't prove anything. This isn't my body." Naruto replied. "Come on, just a little further."

"Wait, isn't your body?" Sasuke questioned. Naruto chuckled.

"I've always been a chakra monster, Sasuke. This body was preferable to my natural one because it was uninjured, although it can't handle the strain of my more… unique Jutsu. Only a few of my bone techniques work." Naruto explained. "I'm actually still recovering."

"Meaning…" Sasuke continued. Naruto smirked.

"There are ways to transplant someone's physical characteristics and mind into another body for a time. It's a variation of the Shoten no Jutsu, although it has several drawbacks in exchange for using an artificial body. I can't control this one indefinitely, for example." Naruto broke off there. "I'd rather keep the specifics to myself if you don't mind. It's the only way I can move around right now."

"Why?" Hinata asked finally. Naruto smiled sadly.

"Because I lost my leg." Naruto replied.

-

Naruto's declaration killed all conversation until they reached his room, were a bandaged Naruto was sleeping in a small cot, his left leg missing at the knee. Hinata clasped a hand firmly over her mouth at the sight, although Naruto was used to it, walking straight on into the room.

"They preserved the leg, all we need is a proper medical ninja to fix me up. Ame doesn't have a skilled enough medic to do it." Naruto explained.

"And Konoha does?" Sasuke asked, dreading the answer. Naruto frowned.

"Not right now." He replied. "According to Itachi, I need either Tsunade the slug sennin or one of her apprentices. None of them are still within the boundaries of Hi no Kuni."

"Itachi?" Sasuke exploded. "He's here?" Naruto shook his head.

"He left yesterday. Calm down, Sasuke. There are things about Itachi you need to know, and it would be best if he were the one to tell them to you." Naruto replied. "Everything is changing so fast… if only things could have stayed the same a little longer."

"Naruto-kun." Hinata muttered, swiping some blood from the teens still slightly bleeding leg and testing it on the scroll, her face taking on a definitive green hew. The scroll didn't react, to her relief. Naruto smiled.

"Hinata's room is two doors to the left. Sasuke, your next door, on the left." Naruto explained. "Take your time, get settled in. Explore if you want. Really, I don't care. I just need… to rest… a while…" Naruto went limp, his extra body collapsing on the ground and turning into a white marionette in the vague shape of a human, the black mantle of Akatsuki surrounding the fallen doll. Hinata bent over and shifted the doll until it sat against Naruto's cot, covering it with the robe, when a silver glint caught her eye. Around Naruto's right index finger was a silver ring with the character 'Aoi' on it. Resolving to ask latter, the two Konoha-nin left the room to explore Ame.

-

"Are you sure it was wise to induct Uzumaki into our organization, considering his… disadvantages?" Nagato turned to regard the three newcomers to his room, all garbed in the Akatsuki robe.

"Naruto-san will not be hampered for long." Nagato replied, gazing back out of the window. "What word of Orochimaru?"

"He has reacquired a body." An odd, almost flat voice muttered. "It will not be long before he marches on Konoha once more."

"I see." Nagato muttered, raising an arm absently. Barely a moment passed before a black bird landed on his arm. "What of the Mugentsuki?"

"No sign."

"I see. You are dismissed." Nagato sighed, taking a scroll from Yahiko's outstretched hand. "The leaves dance in the wind, dodging the burning earth beneath…"

-

"Sasuke-san, are you okay?" Hinata asked as the pair traversed the city of arcs above Ame's ground, the rain pelting on their backs. Sasuke shook his head, as if ridding himself of an annoying headache.

"It's… weird, seeing Naruto so vulnerable." He muttered. "It's as if the strength he gained in the Chunin Exams has vanished just as fast." Hinata nodded softly.

"I know. He'll be okay, right?" She seemed so weak at that moment; Sasuke couldn't help but pity her.

"Hopefully. It really depends on the medics in Konoha." Sasuke replied. "It could be much worse."

"Naruto-kun's like this rain." Hinata suddenly said, stopping. "He's burdened by the sins of those around him, but it doesn't stop him from trying as hard as he can." Sasuke sighed, glancing away.

'If only you knew, Hinata.' He thought, well aware that even Naruto didn't know he knew that particular secret. 'If you knew, Hinata, I'm not sure you would stay loyal to Konoha.'

It wasn't a comforting thought.

* * *

Jutsu Glossary

Shoten no Jutsu (_Shapeshifting Technique_)

Un-ranked Supplementary, range unknown

A technique that allows the user to transplant ones personality and characteristics to another body. The new body only acquires a portion of the controllers chakra supply, as given at the time of copying. The only known user of this Jutsu is Nagato.

-

Shoten Kugutsu no Jutsu (_Shapeshifting Puppet Master Technique)_

A-ranked Supplementary, range unknown

Possibly the most chakra intensive Jutsu to ever exist, although the required chakra control is so negligible that even a civilian with the appropriate reserves could perform it. The Shoten Kugutsu no Jutsu allows the user to transplant his mind and physical characteristics into a specially crafted marionette. Unlike the Shoten no Jutsu, the copy has access to the majority of the users chakra reserves, but suffers physical limitations, particularly in regards to bloodline limits.

-

**I'm back! That's the next chapter for you. I'm almost certain to get slammed for the Shoten Kugutsu no Jutsu, but I liked the concept behind it. Naruto's injury actually does play a role in the story – now they have a proper reason to track down Tsunade (remember, Hiruzen's still alive. Konoha currently has no reason to waste resources tracking her down. Naruto, personally, does).**

**Sorry it's been a while since I updated. I would have done it sooner, but my computer was rather abruptly murdered by a spilled cup of coke. Actually, it's rather amusing, now that I think about it. Anyway, I'll get right to the next chapter. I've got spare time.**

**Oh, that reminds me, on the subject of the Jyuubi, disregard it. I can't conceivably involve him in the story at this point and have later plot points survive. It probably helps that, from what I can tell, the Jyuubi is a major retcon, anyway. Then again, I found the revelation that Madara was the leader of Akatsuki back when **_**that**_** was revealed to be a major ass pull. It doesn't help that, as a villain, Nagato's far easier to understand and relate to. Madara, well, his motivations are at best petty. Who gives a damn about something that happened almost a century ago, especially when it has no real bearing on the current events? Way to hold a grudge. I don't believe that he desires world peace for even a second. When he said he wanted peace at the Kage Council, I wanted to bloody strangle him**

**Right, next chapter.**


	10. The Secrets of the Rain

_Kyuubi's regenerative powers_

_Naruto: Many of you are probably wondering why the Kyuubi didn't just reattach my leg or regrow one (heh, regrow one, how ridiculous. Never mind that doing so would take years off my already limited lifespan). Well, the answers rather simple. He can't. Demon fox biology is quite a bit different to human biology. Besides, you're really giving the fur ball's chakra too much credit._

_Kyuubi: I heard that._

_Naruto: Good. Really, it's ridiculous some of the things people say the Kyuubi's chakra can do. Sasuke's chidori very nearly killed me three times, for god's sake. If Kyuubi has a hard time causing cell regeneration at an acceptable speed to save my live, then how the hell is he going to be able to reattach a severed limb? Closing a hole and reattaching severed sinew are two very different things that require very different approaches. There's a reason why puncture wounds are very serious, you know (as opposed to losing a finger. Given a quick enough response that is fixable. A bullet through the head will kill anyone, even me)._

_Kyuubi: It can't be that different._

_Naruto: Do you even know what muscles are in a human leg?_

_Kyuubi: No…_

_Naruto: Exactly. Also, it was clearly stated that my leg was severed at the knee. The means it was severed __**through**__ the kneecap (or at least around). That messes up more then just two tendons, and those are the ones that the author can actually feel. He is willing to bet that there are many more complications in reattaching a severed leg then he has the (very limited) medical knowledge for, and remember, Kyuubi is just a giant demon fox (Technically he's not even that). There is no reason to assume he's any more knowledgeable of the human body then the average human. It doesn't help him kill them faster. Well, let's face it, if he does anything more then sneeze at a human, he'll probably kill them (hell, the sneeze would probably do it). Anyway, the point is that even if the Kyuubi is a source of ridiculous power, he's never been shown to possess true knowledge, especially in human matters. He knows of his circumstances, but how much of that is a bleeding effect from Naruto? As far as we know, the Biju may not have even been intelligent before being sealed (Remember that being intelligent and being able to speak/think are two very different things).

* * *

_

Chapter 10,  
The Secrets of the Rain

-

The city of Amegakure was far from what Hinata had thought it would be. Prices for regular, every day necessities were higher then their Konohagakure counterparts, but on the whole, everyone seemed to be far nicer and more compromising. It was especially jarring to see a pair of children steal a pear from a food stand, and, even after the owner saw them, be allowed to get away with it, as if the two children regularly did so.

"Don't think lowly of those two." The stand-owner spoke up, garnering Hinata's attention. "They're parents were killed in the recent wars down in Kusa. No one has the money to take them in right now, but we make sure they have food and clothes. It's the most we can give right now."

"Is that common here?" Hinata asked. The shopkeeper sighed.

"More so then any of us would like. Ame is constantly training more ninja to make up for the ones we lose. As I'm sure Pain-sama has told you, without the backing of a Daimyo we are not an official Shinobi nation. We don't get the tax breaks and privileges that come with it. The fact that we're in no-mans land doesn't help, either."

"How did you know that..." Hinata started, but the man cut her off with a wave.

"That you had an audience with Pain-sama? My girl, most of the village probably knows by now. We have to be careful of hidden enemies, after all." The shopkeeper sighed again, checking his tiller absently. Hinata felt a small frown form on her face.

"We aren't trusted?" She asked. The man glanced up at her, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Oh, we trust you. Two of the Akatsuki members went so far as to vouch for you." He replied. "Pain-sama is more worried about the possibility of an tracker seal being hidden on your body."

"Then, why would..." Hinata found that she'd been cut off again long before finishing her question.

"Shh... It isn't safe to speak of anything Pain-sama has spoken to you about unless you are in the presence of an Akatsuki member." He stated softly. "I'm sure your companion has been given a similar warning by now." Hinata nodded in understanding. Naruto was an Akatsuki member – he obviously had ways of disabling any tracker seals.

Still, it was a rather disturbing thought that Konoha would go so far as to put a tracker seal on her.

-

Sasuke, on the other hand, was currently enjoying the view from the top of one of Ame's tallest buildings, looking down on the city with interest. It was strange, how in the streets it was difficult to see ten metres away, yet upon this building he could see the streets with almost impunity.

"I see you have discovered one of my guilty pleasures." Sasuke jumped as Konan walked straight past him, sitting down on the side of the tower. "It's beautiful, in a strange way."

"I don't see it." Sasuke replied. "I'd go so far as to say this would be a place that Naruto would find beauty in, not me."

"You dislike Ame?" Konan asked curiously. Sasuke shook his head.

"I hate rain." He answered. "It reminds me of that night."

"I see. Was it raining then, too?" Konan seemed genuinely interested, but Sasuke couldn't help but feel weary. This was a ninja who was in regular contact with his brother. There was a good chance that before the end of everything, they would be on opposite teams.

Unless what Itachi had to say was truly groundbreaking, of course.

"Itachi speaks of you often." Konan continued after a moment, seeing that Sasuke wasn't going to continue. "He keeps talking of how his little brother is growing strong, of how he has so much untapped potential. He even went so far as to call you the second coming of Jiraiya." Sasuke's head perked up at that.

"The second coming of Jiraiya?" Sasuke muttered, almost questioningly, but not quite. Konan giggled at the sound of the wonder in his voice.

"Don't let it go to your head, Sasuke-san." Konan admonished. "You still have a long way to go before you become a ninja of Jiraiya-sama's level." Sasuke didn't feel too disappointed at that, as he continued to think on it.

"I wonder..." He muttered. "We're we meant to be a parallel to the Sannin?" Konan glanced at him, her mouth a small, wry line.

"Nagato-kun seems to think so." Konan replied. Sasuke flinched at the addressing of Pain by his name, especially in such a personal manner.

'So she's close to Pain.' Sasuke thought, filing the information away for later. It provided an interesting insight into the possible workings of Akatsuki. Briefly, Sasuke wondered if Naruto, too, was on a first name basis with Ame's leader.

"He is." Konan said, waving a hand in front of the now surprised Uchiha's face. "Work on guarding your face, Sasuke-kun. Your far too easy to read." With that, the female Akatsuki member began to walk away.

"He's what?" Sasuke asked, more for confirmation then anything. Konan glanced over her shoulder, amused.

"Naruto-kun is on a first name basis with Nagato-kun." She replied. "Oh, don't speak of anything you talk of with an Akatsuki member out of their presence. Our rings are capable of disturbing the ambient chakra in the air around us. It makes tracker seals useless." With that, she vanished into a veritable whirlwind of paper, leaving Sasuke with far more questions then he had answers.

"Why me?" He wondered, as he began making his way back to his room. "Every time I think I'm getting somewhere, someone throws a curve ball at me and I'm back to square one."

-

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"**Why do you refuse my aid, child."** Kyuubi growled softly, staring at the black robed boy before him, garbed in the Akatsuki mantle and straw hat. Naruto merely stared at him, waiting.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"**This game is not amusing."** The Kyuubi grumbled barely two minutes later. Naruto cocked his head slightly to the side.

"I do not require your powers at this time." Naruto replied, remaining formal with the beast. Kyuubi let out a small snarl at the teens response.

"**You 'do not require' my powers? What do you think I am, boy!" **Kyuubi roared. Naruto shook his head.

"Your increased cell regeneration would remove my ability to reattach my leg, something that my ninja career cannot afford." Naruto retorted. "In addition, your chakra is highly unstable, and would remove what little ability I have left with the Shikotsumyaku. I will not use it, not because it is not useful, Kyuubi, but because if I use it, I will have to throw eighty percent of my current Jutsu set out the window. I am not a chakra control master, and you would do well to remember that." The Kyuubi and Naruto continued to stare at each other for several moments, before the beast finally backed down.

"**Very well, boy."** The Kyuubi grumbled. **"I don't know why you don't just..."**

"Do you even know what muscles are in a human leg?" Naruto asked, cutting the beast off. When he got no answer, Naruto continued on. "Do you even have any muscles?" Again, no answer. "You do realise that this isn't like any other injury I've ever had. I can't afford for you to just pump me full of chakra and expect my body to know how to fix itself. As far as my leg is concerned, it was never there."

"**Your mind is a different matter."** The Kyuubi finally spoke up, but Naruto shook his head.

"What my head thinks doesn't matter. It's what the rest of me thinks that counts. Face it, Kyuubi, we need help. We need a professional."

"**Very well, boy. I will withhold my chakra. However, if I find that you are in unacceptable danger, I will utilise my chakra, your leg be damned."** The Kyuubi conceded, laying its head on its paws. Naruto nodded, turning around and walking away from the beasts cage.

"I can live with that."

-

"I see your back, Hinata-san." Sasuke muttered as Hinata walked into his room, taking a seat at a small table. The pair sat in silence as they went about their own work Hinata recording their status in the mission scroll, Sasuke himself studying a lightning Jutsu, when the door creaked open again.

"I hope Ame is to your liking, because we're staying here another day." Naruto stated as he entered the room, garbed in the Akatsuki mantle. Sasuke let out a snort.

"We're on a time limit, Naruto. We're leaving today." Sasuke replied, wondering if he could rile Naruto up. Naruto snorted in return.

"Remember that Akatsuki member that passed you on the way into Ame?" He asked. "The one that overheard Jiraiya say 'Take your time'? That was me." Sasuke flinched.

"But you went in the gate." Hinata muttered, but Naruto heard her.

"Check your left sleeve." Naruto stated. Hinata did so, only to find a small piece of bone sticking out of the cuff, inscribed with little lines. "Nagato-sama used a Fuinjutsu on that bone that allows me to hear everything that is said within about a metre of that bone. It took him quite a bit of work to get that seal to work, actually."

"Ano, why?" Naruto couldn't fault Hinata for being curious. As a Genin, it was unlikely that she'd been exposed to the horrible underside of the shinobi world. Even Naruto still couldn't grasp the true scope of it.

"The rings worn by the main members of Akatsuki disrupt the ambient chakra in the air around us,which disables tracker seals and eventually starves them, if they're left in the vicinity of a ring long enough. Unfortunately, this also means that, under normal circumstances, we can't use tracker seals, either. Actually, the rings work on most Genin level seals in general, as well as the majority of the covert ones, due to the fact that they get their chakra from the world around us. Other seals, like Sasuke's, for instance, are nastier pieces of work, requiring something else's chakra to function. Sasuke's works by corrupting his own natural chakra and feeding it into a second reserve, as well as purifying this second reserve and feeding it back into his natural one. It creates a form of chakra friction, which keeps the seal stable." Naruto explained.

"How the hell would you know that?" Sasuke asked. Naruto smirked.

"Sasori-senpai used to be Orochimaru's partner in Akatsuki. He knows how the bastards seals work." Naruto replied. "You'd be surprised at just how much information is gathered within Akatsuki. Between us, we know just about everything on this side of the planet."

"Just how much do you contribute to this knowledge?" Sasuke was outright mocking with that line, but Naruto merely laughed it off. He could see the amusement in the Uchiha's eyes.

"Unsurprisingly little. Most of my contributions were to the studies of others. I did spend a week following you two, after all. My body was free for use."

"Wait, you followed us?" Naruto flinched at the strength of Hinata's voice. He could very easily tell the subtle difference between her being upset and being annoyed. She was definitely annoyed. "You followed us and didn't think to talk to us?"

"To be honest I didn't find you until I got to Tanzaku town." Naruto replied, scratching the back of his neck. "That reminds me, if you two are going to hide in plain sight, change your names and at least try to look like someone else. Your appearances aren't exactly secret knowledge." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He asked, almost dreading the answer. Naruto frowned, his eyes going hard.

"I mean, thanks to you two being careless, I made my fourth and fifth kills." He replied darkly. Naruto could almost see the pairs looks of guilt, but he was no longer looking at either of them. "Come on, we may as well do some training while we wait." Naruto grunted. Sasuke silently stood up and followed him, whilst Hinata quickly finished writing in the scroll before sealing it and hiding it in her bags. She was out the door barely five minutes later, and caught up to the boys just outside the building.

-

"It shouldn't be possible for it to rain so much." Sasuke muttered as Naruto led them out of Ame's gate and into the flood plains, rather apparently uncaring of the Uchiha's dislike of rain.

"Toughen up, Sasuke-chan." He teased. "It's not like this is Nagato-sama's rain."

"I wasn't aware he could make rain." Sasuke retorted. "And I wasn't aware there was a difference, for that matter."

"Ame no Katsu Moya." Hinata stated softly. Naruto chuckled.

"That's one of them. Ame no Jutsu does just that. It makes rain. Nagato-sama knows who's in the rain and where, but he won't tell me how he does it. Ame no Katsu Moya, on the other hand..." Naruto frowned. "Well, let's just say it's not for humanitarians. Think raining acid, and your halfway there." Sasuke didn't complain about the rain again for the rest of the trip, knowing full well it could have been worse. The trio soon ended up in a small clearing surrounded by cliffs, perfectly isolated.

"Well, this will do." Naruto grumbled. "Anyway, there's a Jutsu you two are going to need to know if your going to transport my body back to Konoha. It's called Marionetto no Sangeki."

"Tragedy of the Marionette." Sasuke grunted. "I heard Itachi using it once on a clansman." Naruto shrugged.

"That might explain how he knew it. I'm told by Sasori-senpai that the Uchiha made it. Anyway, its meant to create a small, purple field of chakra around the users hand, which, when applied to injuries, reopens them completely. It has a side effect of paralysing the victim, and apparently was the second half of an Genjutsu attack that tricked the target into murdering himself. It's got only seven hand seals. U, Tori, U again, Saru, Hebi, Hitsuji and Jin." Naruto explained. Hinata raised a hand, stopping any further explanation.

"Ano, two questions. Why can't you use the Jutsu, and what is Jin?" She asked. Naruto sighed, but gave her a small smile.

"I can't use the Jutsu on myself because I have the same chakra as myself. It simply doesn't do anything. I actually can't use the Jutsu because I don't have the means of practising it. Sasori left the day before Nagato-sama forced my mind into the Shoten no Jutsu and taught me the Shoten Kugutsu no Jutsu. Before then, I was completely bed bound and chakra-less." Naruto answered. "Nagato-sama doesn't have the time right now to take a break from his work and help me learn it, and he's the only accomplished ninja medic in Ame at the moment. Anyway, the Jin hand seal is commonly affiliated with Suiton Ninjutsu. It's kind of hard to explain it, but I'll show it to you."

"One more question." Sasuke cut in. "Why did Pain bring you here?" Naruto's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but that's private information." He replied. "Let's get started. One of you has to be competent at this before tomorrow, or we're going to be set back another day."

"Wouldn't Jiraiya-sama know how to do it?" Hinata asked. Naruto shrugged.

"I'm not betting my ninja career on a maybe." He replied.

-

Naruto really wasn't surprised that Hinata was the one to become competent with the Jutsu, in record time, too. It had only taken seven hours for her skill at chakra control to shine through. He was perfectly aware that she'd never pull it off in combat, though. The trio returned to Ame not long after, where Naruto bade the others good afternoon and cancelled his marionette Jutsu, leaving the doll in his room. Sasuke and Hinata returned to the Uchiha's dorm, where they continued their own work until the door opened once again.

"I take it that the mission was unsuccessful." Jiraiya stated as he entered the room. Both leaf teenagers looked up at him in surprise, just in time to see Naruto holding a bone knife to his throat, a thin line of blood trickling down Jiraiya's neck, proving that, if nothing else, he wasn't using a Henge.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto demanded in a soft voice. Jiraiya sighed.

"Kid, drop the weapon before I kill you. You're bloody green." Jiraiya retorted. Naruto chuckled.

"Your greener if you haven't already realised that this isn't me. Answer the question." The teen pressed, forming a half-hand seal and flooding chakra into the room. Jiraiya glanced at the Akatsuki member, only for his eyes to widen.

"He's the target?" Jiraiya asked Sasuke, who was struggling not to burst out laughing at the scene. He didn't know what was funnier, the fact that someone had almost got the drop on a Sannin and was still alive to talk about it, or the fact that Naruto hadn't recognised one of the most famous ninja in the world (then again, to be slightly more fair, Sasuke hadn't either, but Jiraiya hadn't had his scroll with him at the time). Hinata wasn't anywhere near as amused.

"Naruto-kun, that's Jiraiya-sama, our guide." She said softly. Naruto sighed, looking at Jiraiya again.

"Sorry, thought you were Kabuto, or worse, Kimmimaro in disguise." He stated softly, returning the bone knife to dust.

"Good, you've got a healthy sense of paranoia on you." Jiraiya examined. "Some of the best disguises are the ones that change as little as possible."

"But you have a completely different body type to Kabuto-san." Hinata muttered, although Sasuke's eyes had narrowed. Naruto had given away information that he clearly hadn't intended to tell them... yet, anyway. He knew things that they clearly did not.

"The less complicated the Henge, the harder it is to notice it." Jiraiya muttered. "Body height and mass are some of the easiest things to hide. It's only when you start changing colours and clothing that things get complicated."

"I think they're referring to the academy Henge." Naruto muttered. Jiraiya shrugged.

"Well, then that's something I'll have to teach them on the way home. How long until we leave?" Naruto shrugged.

"We'll be ready as early as tomorrow. I need to give Pain-sama my report." Naruto replied. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

"Joining organisation's not affiliated with your country could be considered treason, you know." Jiraiya stated. Naruto shrugged again.

"Technically I'm not in an organisation. After all, Ame is not a shinobi nation, therefore, Akatsuki officially doesn't exist. All Konoha will see is that I've acquired a new fashion sense." Naruto replied. "Besides, who do you think helped Pain-sama set Akatsuki up? No matter how strong a ninja is, he couldn't set up something like this alone." Naruto turned back to face Sasuke and Hinata. "Akatsuki's starting fund was donated by the Yondaime Hokage about two months before the Kyuubi attack. In essence, Konoha is responsible for the groups existence."

"I thought it originated in Mist." Jiraiya muttered. Naruto sighed.

"Sorry, I don't know if you have the clearance for that information." Naruto replied. Jiraiya scoffed at that.

"A chunin thinks he can keep secrets from a spy master?" He asked. "Naruto, I know just about every secret in Konoha."

"And I've been sealed." Naruto replied. "Pain-sama added it into the Shiki Fuuin array. If I attempt to give the information to someone who isn't to know of it, I'll need a seal-master really, really quickly." Jiraiya understood the implications behind Naruto's words. The seal-master wasn't to save his life. The seal-master was for ensuring the Kyuubi went to the next life with Naruto.

"Who does have clearance?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto frowned, hand cupping his chin as he thought.

"I don't know. As far as I know, only the Sandaime and the rest of Akatsuki. Some pieces of information are sealed to only Konoha ninja, and others I'm entitled to give to these two, but for the most part, I can't say a word." Naruto answered. "It's mainly a fail safe if I get tortured. I know things that we can't afford to fall into enemy hands."

"And mind readers?" Jiraiya pressed. Naruto chuckled.

"There's only two doors into my mind. The one that isn't for me leads right into his cage." Naruto replied cryptically. Jiraiya could read between the lines.

He pitied the idiot who tried to read Naruto's mind.

-

Of course, the little showdown between Naruto and Jiraiya sparked a small questions and answers session from Hinata and Sasuke, but the pair knew when to leave well enough alone. Naruto would tell them when he was ready to, and that was good enough for them. It really wasn't long until Naruto bade the three goodnight, directing Jiraiya to a room across the hall before returning the doll to his room. Sasuke slept fitfully that night, as if it were the storm before the calm.

What a correct analogy.

-

"Wake up." Naruto whispered, shaking Sasuke awake. The Uchiha let out a yawn as he looked at Naruto, rubbing his eyes.

"Dobe..." He started, lapsing into his old address for his friend. "It's four in the morning."

"I know. Get dressed and stay quiet. There's something you need to do." Naruto said no more, walking out of the room. Sasuke groaned aloud, hopping out of his warm bed and pulling on his clothes. He didn't bother grabbing his Hitae-Ate, opting to hide a kunai up his sleeve as he left the room, where Naruto was waiting.

"Follow me, and whatever happens, wait for an explanation." Naruto stated, moving down the hall at a brisk pace. Sasuke followed silently as the teen led him into the rain, leaping from arc to arc as he approached a particularly tall building. It wasn't long until the pair reached the top, where a single man stood waiting for them, garbed in the Akatsuki mantle and hat.

"I brought him, senpai." Naruto said clearly. The man didn't move. "I'll leave you two alone." With that, Naruto leapt from the building, leaving Sasuke alone with the Akatsuki member. Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat when the man turned around to face him.

"Hello... otouto..." Itachi whispered, his eyes coal black, but dancing with amusement at Sasuke's shocked expression.

"It's been a while since we've talked, hasn't it?"

* * *

Jutsu Glossary

Tousha Fuin _(Tracing Seal)_

A-rank Fuinjutsu, Total Range unknown

A small and almost unnoticeable seal which records audio data through residual chakra in the air and sends echoes of this data towards its sister seal. Due to its reliance on natural chakra, this seal is almost completely undetectable, and is small enough that finding it is a waste of time. Of course, crafting one of these seals requires excellent penmanship and a microscope, but Ne ANBU, and Danzo especially, think it's worth the trade off.

Of course, Akatsuki have long since made counters for this seal, the Jyuringu (ten rings) of Akatsuki being only one of which.

-

Fuinjutsu: Tousha Ankaa _(Sealing Art: Tracing Anchor)_

S-rank Fuinjutsu, 10-20 metres

A variation of the Tousha Fuin that is almost useless for long range spying purposes, the Tousha Ankaa is a seal that, instead of recording audio data, routes the information straight back to its current target. However, the use of this seal requires that a chakra link be maintained, which is highly visible at any distance beyond about eight metres. However, this seal is the only tracking seal that is currently known to be able to bypass the Jyuringu of Akatsuki.

Of course, the chakra link is almost dense enough to run into, making this Jutsu woefully inefficient. The seal is a bit larger then the original, too.

-

Ame no Jutsu _(Art of Rain)_

Unknown rank Ninjutsu, Total Range unknown

A Jutsu which causes immediate rain in an area. The specifics of this Jutsu are known only to Nagato. It is known that Nagato knows the exact location and identity of everyone in the rain, though.

-

Marionetto no Sangeki _(Tragedy of the Marionette)_

B-rank Medical Ninjutsu, 1 metre tops

A medical perversion that is used to keep wounds bleeding, if only to prolong the targets suffering. Admittedly, it does have certain uses when searching for a ninja to reattach severed limbs. The Marionetto no Sangeki is the second part of a Ninjutsu-Genjutsu combo, in which the target is tricked into killing himself via kunai to the throat.

**Well, that took a while. Sorry, but I only just got a new computer. Anyway, a lot of information was passed along in that chapter. Be sure to keep it all in mind.**

**The next chapter, the Uchiha brothers have some words, and maybe a little more.**

**Maybe.**

**Anyway, if any of you care, we aren't going to be back in Konoha for a while. You'll find out why next chapter.**

**Oh, and sorry about the little rant up top. Sure, the Naruto gets help from Kyuubi plot was original. Now it's just overdone. It doesn't help that the Kyuubi is sometimes attributed with abilities he has no business being given (freezing time, anyone? Believe it or not, I've seen that before), but hey, its fanfiction.**

**Til next time.**


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